Ex-Port Jefferson resident Lauren Pazienza is considering going to prison 'for a very long time' in fatal shove case, attorney says

Lauren Pazienza, the former Port Jefferson woman accused of shoving and killing a beloved Manhattan voice teacher last year, is considering going to prison “for a very long time” if an acceptable plea bargain is reached in her manslaughter case, her attorney said Thursday.

During a brief court appearance in the case, defense attorney Arthur Aidala said that he and prosecutors were discussing a “possible disposition” in the first-degree manslaughter case against Pazienza, who is being held on Rikers Island and wasn’t in court on Thursday.

“Lauren agrees she needs to be punished,” Aidala added. “She understands there is a punishment and a price to pay ... she is seriously considering taking some sort of a disposition that puts her in jail for a very long time.”

Pazienza, 27, faces manslaughter and other charges stemming from the March 10, 2022, incident in which police said she shoved noted voice instructor Barbara Gustern, 87, on a Manhattan sidewalk, causing her to fall and suffer severe brain injuries.

Gustern, known as a voice teacher to singers such as Deborah Harry, died five days later.

Police said that Pazienza had been eating and drinking with her fiance in a nearby park when a city employee told the couple they had to leave. 

An angry Pazienza, who officials said had had numerous glasses of wine, stormed out of the park alone and then jostled Gustern on the sidewalk.

Outside the courtroom, Aidala told reporters that he and prosecutors were “not very far apart” in negotiating a plea deal. Aidala said he didn’t think first-degree manslaughter was appropriate in the case, suggesting a less severe charge was something he was seeking. 

First-degree manslaughter, punishable by 5  to 25 years in prison, requires an intent to cause a person physical harm that leads to a person’s death, and Aidala said he believed Pazienza had no intent to hurt Gustern.

“It is black letter law that if you are so inebriated, so intoxicated, that you can’t possess the required intent [to harm],” said Aidala, suggesting that a second-degree manslaughter charge was more appropriate if plea negotiations failed and the case went to trial.

The lesser charge carries a maximum 15 years in prison. The attorney indicated that defense and prosecution experts — who psychologically assessed Pazienza — were in close agreement on her mental state but didn’t elaborate.

Aidala explained that he wasn’t looking for a light sentence as low as five years but was working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for a sentence equitable for all sides.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney Office declined to comment on Aidala’s statements.

Aidala also noted that Pazienza and her family have written notes of sympathy to the Gustern family but need the permission of prosecutors to allow those messages to be communicated to the victim’s relatives.

Several of Gustern’s friends from her West Side neighborhood attended the brief court session before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin, who set the next court date for July 20.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.