Sentencing Wednesday for Queens man guilty of 2008 contract murder of Nesconset attorney

 Darnell Festus  The sentencing of a Queens man convicted of the 2008 contact killing of a Long Island real estate attorney is scheduled for tomorrow in Suffolk County court in Riverhead.   Darnell Festus was to be sentenced August 19.  State Supreme Court Justice C. Randall Hinrichs adjourned the matter because the court received an anonymous letter alleging another person shot James DiMartino to death in the parking lot of a Commack restaurant.   The court granted the adjournment to allow defense counsel to investigate the claims made in the letter.   Festus, 25, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.  He was convicted of first degree murder, second degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.   Codefendant, Ronald Thornton, 39, of Nesconset, was convicted of concocting the murder plot to prevent DiMartino from implicating him in a series of fraudulent mortgage deals.   Thornton is serving a sentence of life without parole.   Justice Hinrichs (fourth floor) will call the court calendar at 9:30 am.

Update on Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 10:36AM by .

Darnell Festus was sentenced to life without parole for the first degree murder conviction and twenty five years to life for the second degree murder conviction.