Murder trial starts
Sandwich shop owner is accused of beating employee to death.
The jury trial of Georgios Kakavelos, the deli owner accused of bludgeoning a 22year-old female employee to death, will rely heavily on the man prosecutors say Kakavelos paid to kill her — James Duffy.
In opening arguments in Saratoga County Court on Wednesday, First Assistant District Attorney Al Poremba said he will walk the jury through the steps that Kakavelos allegedly took to stop Allyzibeth Lamont from filing a complaint against him with the Department of Labor about not being paid for overtime hours she had worked.
To stop her, Poremba alleges, Kakavelos offered Duffy money to “brutally beat” Lamont with a baseball bat. And when she didn’t die, Poremba alleged, Kakavelos dealt the final blow with a sledgehammer at Kakavelos’ deli, The Local No. 9, in Johnstown.
The prosecutor, however, could barely be heard during the hearing when viewed remotely by the Times Union, as he was frequently not making his statements in front of the microphone — a symptom of courts just starting back after being shut down due to the pandemic. The court did not allow the Times Union to be in
the courtroom, citing social distancing requirements.
Poremba also alleged that the two men loaded the victim’s body in a 2008 Volkswagen Passat used by Kakavelos’ wife and then left her naked body on the side of the Northway in Malta — concealing her in a shallow grave covered with fertilizer, concrete, paving stones and branches. Poremba alleged that the two scattered the evidence in three locations throughout Saratoga County, and then Kakavelos had the car detailed to further hide evidence of the murder.
“He took great measures to hide his act,” Poremba said. “What he didn’t count on was his right-hand man and confidante disclosing what he did.”
But defense attorney Kevin O’brien, who could be heard clearly in the remote feed, said he plans to show that Duffy, who took a plea deal in exchange for testimony against Kakavelos, is “an admitted drunk” and “a crackhead” who would say anything “once he knew the walls were caving in on him.”
“He wanted to get himself out of it,” O’brien said. “He pointed at the only man he knew. The man that had been good to him, who hired him, who had seen past all of his issues, Georgios Kakavelos” — who, he added, “has never been in trouble.”
“If he’s guilty of anything, it’s being home and being a family man while his wife was recovering from pregnancy,” O’brien said. “He gave James Duffy too much responsibility and chaos ensued.”
O’brien alleged that Duffy committed the crime and that Kakavelos stumbled upon it. He alleges Duffy threatened Kakavelos, telling him he must help him dispose of the body or he would come after Kakavelos’ family.
“This man walks into one of the most violent scenes anybody can see,” O’brien said. “He’s got a baby at home, another child and his loving wife at home, of course; he knew that threat was real. It was written all over the walls in Allyzibeth Lamont’s blood.”
Duffy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of the Gloversville woman on April 30. He could face 18 years to life in prison at his sentencing on July 15.
Kakavelos faces firstand second-degree murder charges, as well as charges of concealing a human corpse and tampering with evidence. He could face life without the possibility of parole.
The jury trial, in which Judge James Murphy III is presiding, will hear from about 60 witnesses and is expected to last between four and six weeks.