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It's been a rough couple of weeks for Queens City Councilman Dennis Gallagher as accusations swirled that he raped a woman in his Middle Village neighborhood. Friday, Gallagher and his attorney answered some questions about the allegations. NY1’s Molly Kroon filed the following report.
City Councilman Dennis Gallagher has been laying low these days, refusing to come out of his Queens home he shares with his wife and two children to talk to a reporter.
He spoke to a NY1 reporter through the door.
"I have faith in the system,” said Gallagher. “I feel in the end I will be vindicated and I just ask that people don't jump to any conclusions."
Gallagher is facing some serious accusations – a woman who lives just a few blocks from the councilman says he raped her earlier this month. Authorities say that Gallagher met the woman at a neighborhood bar, Danny Boys, just steps from his family's home and less than a mile away from his district office on Metropolitan Avenue.
The woman alleges that Gallagher raped her in an office upstairs. Police searched the building for evidence the following day.
Gallagher has since given DNA samples to the police, but his attorney, Stephen Mahler, says he is innocent.
"He vehemently denies any criminal wrong doing," said Mahler.
The Queens district attorney would not comment on the case, but sources say a grand jury will be convened to look at the evidence – and could come back with a decision next week.
Mahler, however, downplayed the significance and said his client would not testify if called.
"It's really indicative of nothing that you're having a grand jury investigation," said Mahler.
Still, the allegations have shocked many in the community.
"He's with his family all the time,” said one local resident. “That's all he cares about, his family."
"Personally, I can say he's like the best guy in this whole neighborhood,” said another. “I can say that."
Gallagher was first elected back in 2001– one of just three Republicans on the council. Before that, he was chief of staff for former Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene and was an investigator for the state Crime Victim’s Board.
Whether he's absolved of the allegations or not, Gallagher's attorney fears that the councilman’s reputation – and career – may be tarnished.
"I think all public officials are fearful of that,” he said. “Even private individuals, people not in public life, are fearful of such taint. It's something that is hard to undo it once it's done."
The full City Council meets next Wednesday. The question is if Gallagher will be there, as well.
-Molly Kroon
6 years ago
