New allegation arises in case

Prosecutor brings up fire attempt

On Wednesday, Georgios Kakavelos listened to a Saratoga County prosecutor describe him to a jury as a killer who orchestrated the Oct. 28, 2019 first-degree murder of 22-year-old Allyzibeth Lamont, an employee in the defendant’s Johnstown deli.

The next day, Kakavelos, 52, of Ballston Spa, heard the same prosecutor utter a new allegation against him that was not said in front of the jury: That Kakavelos had a role in the 2018 attempted arson of the Travers Diner, which he owned in Gloversville.

First Assistant District Attorney Alan Poremba suggested the defendant’s alleged role in the fire — Kakavelos has not been charged in it — could be admissible due to comments that Kakavelos’ attorney Kevin O’brien made in his opening statement about his client’s lack of a criminal record.

“Mr. O’brien spoke as if this defendant has no prior accusations against him ... it sounds like he has no history whatsoever ” Poremba told the judge. “And we have been talking about him being a suspect or definitely a person of interest in the attempted arson fire of the Travers Diner.”

Poremba reminded County Judge James A. Murphy III that before the trial, the judge told attorneys on both sides to tread lightly on the subject.

“I think that Mr. O’brien took great liberties during his opening ... he should have been very careful with his words and he was not,” Poremba told Murphy. “Part of the impression that he gave to the jury was that the defendant has never been accused of anything.”

The judge asked Poremba how Kakavelos was being accused in the arson. Poremba replied that there were “no formal charges” but was a suspect in the fire. Poremba said police read Kakavelos his Constitutional rights to remain silent before they took his statement about the fire.

“He is still a suspect in that attempted arson,” the prosecutor told Murphy.

The judge, who appeared unmoved by Poremba’s argument, noted that Poremba did not object to O’brien’s remarks in the opening statement.

“My understanding is that Mr. Kakavelos was never accused of a crime,” the judge said. “If you have proof of a charge, provide it and I’ll consider it.”

Kakavelos’ statement in connection with the fire was part of what prosecutors said was “Molineux material,” which limits the admissibility of evidence of prior uncharged crimes or “bad acts” that could be prejudicial and lead to a conviction for the wrong reason.

Poremba said he would research the issue further. The judge said he saw a difference between a “bad act” and someone having their rights read to them by police. He suggested Poremba file a memo.

Murphy told O’brien he did not believe he needed to hear his argument on the matter.

In his opening statement, O’brien slammed the prosecution’s star witness, James Duffy, 35, known as “Jimmy,” whom prosecutors allege Kakavelos paid to kill Lamont, as a liar, sex assailant, “drunk” and a “crackhead” — and described Kakavelos as a “family man” who the lawyer said “has never been in trouble.”

While the business and victim were in Fulton County, prosecutors say Duffy, who has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, left her body on the side of the Northway in Malta in Saratoga County. Poremba said her body was concealed in a shallow grave covered with fertilizer, concrete, stones and branches — and that evidence was scattered in three locations throughout Saratoga County.

In Poremba’s opening statement, the prosecutor told jurors that Kakavelos wanted to kill Lamont to keep her from filing a complaint against him with the state Department of Labor about her not being paid for overtime hours. Poremba said Kakavelos offered Duffy money to use a baseball bat to “brutally beat” Lamont. When the victim did not die, the prosecutor said, Kakavelos used a sledgehammer to deal a final blow to Lamont.

O’brien told jurors his client helped Poremba dispose of the body, but only because Duffy threatened to hurt his family if he refused to do so.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Kakavelos faces the possibility life in prison without parole. He faces other charges in an 11-count indictment that include concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

A Gloversville detective was on the stand when the trial broke for the week Thursday. It will resume with his testimony Monday morning.