Rewards Increased to $20,000 for Information on NY Tow Owner's Homicide

Kudos to the anonymous towing company that put up $10,000 of the reward. Here's the story from The Journal News:

GARRISON - New York State Crime Stoppers has increased its reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the Dec. 31 shooting death of tow-truck driver John Marcinak, who was found on the side of Route 9 in front of his business, the Garrison Garage.

Robert Keller, program director of the Yorktown-based New York State Crime Stoppers, said today that his organization has increased its reward to $10,000. Combined with a $10,000 reward put up by a Tarrytown towing company that wishes to remain anonymous, it brings the total reward money to $20,000.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-313-8477. All callers may remain anonymous. Tips may also be given to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 845-225-4300, and callers can also remain anonymous, police said.

Marcinak. a 49-year-old father of three, was found unresponsive in front of his Garrison Garage at 1627 Route 9 around 12:15 p.m. on Dec. 31. It snowed that morning and he had returned from an accident on Route 9 in Westchester County with a small silver sedan on the back of his flatbed tow truck when passing motorists called police to report seeing a man on the ground.

Emergency responders, including Marcinak's fellow members of the Garrison Fire Department, initially believed he was struck by a hit-and-run motorist. They rushed him to the Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt, where he died. Doctors determined that he was shot several times, launching an intensive investigation by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office that continued today.

Sheriff Donald B. Smith said his investigators are being assisted by the Putnam County District Attorney's Office as well as several surrounding police agencies.

"Every tip is being checked out and every possible lead or clue is being investigated," Smith said.

Crime Stoppers is a not-for-profit organization formed to assist law enforcement throughout the state by offering rewards for information about particular crimes, Keller said. It works closely with law enforcement. The $10,000 Crime Stoppers is offered was made in cooperation with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

New York State Crime Stoppers policy allows for a reward limit of up to $2,500. But the reward in the Marcinak case was increased thanks to anonymous private donations, Keller said.

"We would like to publicly that those responsible for the donations that made this reward offering increase possible," he said.

Marcinak was a beloved member of the Garrison community known for doing favors for others and being involved in the lives of his three children.