Anthony M. DeStefano

I joined Newsday in February 1986 to work in the New York City edition and immediately took part in covering several major crime stories. Working under legendary Newsday editor Bob Greene, I played a role in the paper’s massive coverage of the 1986 Mafia Commission trial. Soon afterward, I was made lead reporter for the trial of subway gunman Bernhard Goetz. Both the commission coverage and the Goetz trial gave notice that Newsday was a force to be reckoned with in the media world.

I came to journalism indirectly. I was born in the Bronx and after studying media at Ithaca College, where I graduated, I continued studies in film and media at Michigan State University. My Michigan studies were interrupted by a stint in the U.S. Army, where I was assigned to work in a press office north of Saigon. The experience was an eye opener to the world of reporting, particularly war and international coverage. After the military, I lived in Europe, doing freelance journalism, including articles for Newsday about the U.S. military in Europe. After returning home, I earned a law degree.

What I like about Newsday is the collegial working atmosphere, which has allowed me to do some of my best work.

In Newsday, I see a newspaper committed to reporting the news without sensationalism and with a deep probing level of reporting. My beat finds me covering the New York City Police Department. The beat is synergistic for Newsday because not only do a great many cops live on Long Island – close to one-third of the force – but the subject of crime is something of deep interest and concern to other Long Islanders who work in New York City. How the Big Apple goes dictates the impact for Long Islanders.

What I like about Newsday is the collegial working atmosphere, which has allowed me to do some of my best work, including coverage of mafia trials and the Gilgo Beach killings. For Gilgo, my biggest stories were about the genetic genealogy used in the investigations, telling the tragic stories of victims Valerie Mack and Karen Vergata, as well as the inside story of how the investigation led to the arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann.

Education: BS Ithaca College, MA Michigan State University, JD New York Law School

Anthony DeStefano covers law enforcement,  criminal justice and legal affairs for Newsday from New York City.  He joined Newsday in 1986 after working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Fairchild News Service and the Hartford Courant.

Honors and Awards: Part of a team of New York Newsday reporters who won the Pulitzer Prize for spot news reporting in 1992;  New York Emmy Awards, 2019-2020 for “Gilgo Beach Investigations, 10 Years, 10 Bodies, 0 Arrests.