NY Tow Truck Co. Owner Remembered

This New Year's Eve remembrance was for John Marcinak, who was shot and killed one year ago. Here's the story from The Journal News:

GARRISON — More than 100 family and friends of beloved tow-truck operator John Marcinak gathered this morning at his Garrison Garage on Route 9, where he was gunned down one year ago today when he interrupted a burglary.

Marcinak, a 49-year-old married father of three, was a fixture in the Garrison community, where he grew up and was a long-time member of the Garrison Volunteer Fire Department. He could often been seen driving his flatbed truck through town with his three children, taking them to school or after-school functions.

When investigators with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office charged a Lake Peekskill teen in June with Marcinak's murder, it brought some sense of justice to his family and friends.

But as the gathering today inside the old stone garage showed, Marcinak's loss still weighs heavy on his community.

"John loved his community and would be amazed at the people here today," said Garrison VFD member Christopher Simone.

Marcinak's widow, Janet, attended with their three children, Julie 14, John 10, and Joey, 9.

"It's been a year but the community doesn't want to forget and that's good for the kids," she said.

Anthony Grigoroff, 18, of Morrissey Drive, Lake Peekskill has been held without bail since June at the Putnam County Sheriff's Office on felony charges of second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of attempted second-degree burglary. His case is pending in County Court.