Alleged Brick 'Hit-and-Run' Boater's Trial Date Set
Robert Post, of Essex Fells, died in the 2008 boat accident.
The man accused of vehicular homicide and assault stemming from an August 2008 boating accident near the mouth of the Metedeconk River will have his day in court Oct. 29, officials said.
Brick resident Anthony Digilio, now 33, is facing a single count of vehicular homicide and two counts of assault by vessel. He was charged after authorities alleged he was at the helm of a boat involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed an Essex County man and injured two others.
The August 3, 2008 accident, which occurred after 1:30 a.m., resulted in the death of Robert Post, a 49-year-old Essex Fells resident who was piloting a 17-foot Boston Whaler that night. Several other people were injured in the accident, two seriously.
After the accident, authorities began hunting for the second boat involved.
On August 5, 2008, authorities seized Digilio's 27-foot Imperial performance boat, which they said had been involved in the crash. At the time, Digilio's then-attorney William Cunningham told the Newark Star-Ledger that his client hit something that night, but was not sure what it was. Cunningham said Digilio stopped the boat, did not hear or see anything, then proceeded on his way, an article published in the newspaper said.
An Ocean County grand jury indicted Digilio in the case in 2010. Digilio has since switched lawyers; he is now being represented by celebrity criminal defense attorney Joseph Tacopina of New York City.
Senior Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Hillary Bryce said Digilio's trial is set to begin Oct. 29, with a hearing scheduled in late August to determine plea cutoff dates and other matters.
As of now, the option of reaching a plea bargain is still possible, Bryce said.
Bryce said no charges related to alcohol or drug use were levied in the case.
"We didn't get ahold of him until a couple days later, so we have no way of knowing if there were any intoxication issues," she said.
If convicted, Digilio faces 10 years behind bars for the vehicular homicide charge and 18 months each for the two assault by vessel charges.
This article first ran on Brick Patch.
On the Mark
4:17 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Why not report the facts of August 3, 2008:
Digilio left the scene of the accident, leaving injured victims in the water
Digilio hauled his damaged boat from the water and hid the boat after the accident
Why would a boater act in such a matter, he's obviously trying to cover up a crime.
Any boater knows that sound on the water travels great distances, more so at night. How he couldn't hear the victims cries for help is unfathomable. Its probably because the boats engines were so loud, that he chose not to hear the cries for help. This guy is a disgrace to the boating community.