Luis Gil, 21, was hit with the term in Manhattan Supreme Court by Justice Cori Weston after Gil pleaded guilty in October to one count of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing Hugo Rene Morales Maxia on July 13, 2023, near the West Side’s Pier 84 between the Circle Line terminal and the USS Intrepid.
“Hugo Morales was lying on a park bench one summer morning on Pier 84 when Luis Gil fatally stabbed him without provocation, tragically cutting his life short,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “While nothing can bring Mr. Morales back, I hope this guilty plea and lengthy prison sentence can serve as a measure of comfort and closure to his loved ones who continue to mourn his loss.”
“Hugo Morales was lying on a park bench one summer morning on Pier 84 when Luis Gil fatally stabbed him without provocation, tragically cutting his life short,” said District Attorney Bragg. “While nothing can bring Mr. Morales back, I hope this guilty plea and lengthy prison sentence can serve as a measure of comfort and closure to his loved ones who continue to mourn his loss.”
Good afternoon Chair Feliz and members of the Committee on Public Safety. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today regarding our Office’s Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget. We thank the City Council for its past support and the other District Attorneys for their collaboration; we know that a safer and fairer city requires all of us working together.
Four years ago Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg set aside a group of about a dozen lawyers to prosecute housing fraud cases across the city. The office’s Housing & Tenant Protection unit has since brought forward 10 cases, including against heavy hitters Meyer and Joseph Chetrit, brothers and former owners of high-profile properties like the Chelsea Hotel and Chicago’s Willis Tower, for allegedly harassing elderly tenants in Chelsea. The unit has also brought forward cases involving deed theft, rental scams and other alleged abuses of New York’s real estate laws. Earlier this month the office secured guilty pleas from three developers in Brooklyn accused of cheating 421-a, the once-popular but now-expired state program that granted generous incentives to developers who built affordable housing. Bragg recently spoke with Crain’s about his office’s quest to bring bad actors in the real estate community to justice.
