Raymond J. Aab, Esq.
(Attorney at Law)
Case Studies and Media Coverage
Client not guilty of murder due to forensic-backed self-defense
Our client was charged with murder after fatally shooting another man during a confrontation. At first glance, the evidence appeared highly damaging: the deceased had been shot four times in the back and was unarmed when he was struck.
Rather than accepting the prosecution's version of events, we conducted a detailed forensic investigation. By combining surveillance footage, ballistics analysis, crime scene evidence, and witness testimony, we reconstructed exactly what happened in the crucial seconds before the shooting.
The investigation revealed that another occupant of the victim's vehicle fired at our client just 1.7 seconds before our client returned fire. Working with ballistics experts, we identified a single frame in surveillance footage that captured the muzzle flash from inside the vehicle. By synchronizing multiple camera angles and analysing bullet trajectories and entry and exit points, we demonstrated that a bullet had travelled from the vehicle toward our client, passing through a fence before reaching him. The physical evidence confirmed that this shot originated from inside the vehicle—not from our client.
This forensic reconstruction fundamentally changed the understanding of the incident. After weeks of hearings and expert evidence, the court accepted that our client had acted in lawful self-defence, resulting in an acquittal on the murder charge.
This case demonstrates the value of meticulous investigation, decades of detective experience, and the effective use of forensic science to uncover the facts when appearances can be misleading.
Small business kept alive despite $700k in claims from workers and suppliers
A 24 hour take out and delivery restaurant was on the verge of being shut down because of $700,000 in claims from its workers and suppliers.
By filing a timely Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization petition, Mr. Aab helped the restaurant reduce the amount it owed its workers and suppliers to less than $100,000, which allowed it to stay in business.
Federal RICO Case Dismissed
Mr. Aab's client was charged in a complex federal case alleging involvement in a conspiracy to steal more than $80 million from a foreign bank and launder the proceeds through companies in another country. The prosecution brought the case under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Through strategic litigation and a series of carefully prepared legal motions, we demonstrated that the prosecution had failed to meet the legal requirements necessary to bring the RICO charges.
The court agreed and dismissed the case against our client before trial.
This case highlights the importance of rigorous legal analysis and experienced advocacy in complex federal criminal cases.
Nov. 21, 2014 11:34 AM EST, Associated Press, by Jake Pearson
NEW YORK — A former McDonald's worker acquitted of charges he placed shards of glass into a police officer's Big Mac nearly a decade ago has won a $437,000 settlement from the city after arguing the officer fabricated the story to win money by suing the fast food restaurant.
Albert Garcia was 18 in January 2005 when Officer John Florio accused him of spiking his burger with broken glass. He initially confessed after being questioned by four detectives for hours in a small, windowless room in the Bronx restaurant.
But Garcia, who has an IQ of 81, soon recanted, and his lawyer's investigation revealed enough inconsistencies in the officers' testimonies that the state's highest court unexpectedly decided to hear the assault case this year. The case had been dismissed in 2012, a decision upheld by a lower state appeals court.
Last month, the city agreed to a settlement.
"I was thrilled when I found out," said Garcia, a 28-year-old father of two who works as a counselor at a Bronx YMCA and is studying criminal justice. "I really thought this wasn't going to happen."
It might not have if Florio hadn't pursued a $6 million civil claim against the McDonald's franchise owner about a week after the burger incident. The claim was settled in 2009 for $15,000, said Garcia's lawyer, Raymond Aab.
"That really opened the door for me," said Aab, noting it allowed him to take Florio's and other detectives' depositions, thus uncovering crucial inconsistencies.
A family received the best of all Christmas presents: their husband and father of four children was not deported following a trial in the US immigration court.
Mr. Aab's client from the Dominican Republic had been convicted twice for possession of cocaine.
US immigration therefore went to court to deport him.
However, at the trial, Mr. Aab demonstrated that it would cause an extraordinary hardship on his client's wife and four children if he and his family were separated by his deportation.
The family is now reunited.