Jon Craig

Reporter

jon.craig@dailyvoice.com

Pleasantville native Jon Craig is special editor for the Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess Daily Voice sites. He is also the primary reporter for Daily Voice Plus Politics in Westchester and Fairfield.

Jon graduated from Cornell University and received his master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Across a 35-year career, he's worked as a reporter for daily newspapers in Chicago, New York, Ohio & Washington, D.C and as managing editor for weekly newspapers in Rye, White Plains and Harrison.

Jon also writes periodically for the Cornell Chronicle.

Career Highlights:

  • Covered Metro-North train wreck that killed a motorist and five commuters, 2015
  • Researched state investigative project for PublicIntegrity.org, 2011-12
  • National MADD award for database analysis of repeat drunk drivers in Ohio, 2008.
  • Henry F. Guggenheim Fellow, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2010.
  • Sentenced to jail for protecting confidential sources (won on appeal), 1999.
  • Broke 30th anniversary story about Kent State shootings — using FBI records, resurrecting theory a student informant triggered fatal National Guard volley, May 2000.
  • Covered Ground Zero after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.
  • Uncovered voting problems before & during presidential recount in Ohio, 2004.
  • Witnessed botched Death Row execution of Romell Broom in 2009, one of more than a dozen I covered; Wrote about three inmates whose death sentences were commuted to life without parole.
  • Won IRE, SDX and multiple national & state awards for series led by Erik Kriss investigating New York General Assembly. 1994.
  • Guest lecturer at universities in NY & Ohio. Taught Syracuse high school journalism class.
  • Co-authored IRE-award winning series on illegal restraints/beatings at juvenile detention centers. Gov. Mario Cuomo had NY inspector general confirm what Hart Seely and I found at Division for Youth & fired top directors, 1993.
  • Survived Air Force Kool School training at North Pole, 1996.
  • Covered Persian Gulf wars, including 2002 bomb missions from Turkey and stateside Army/Air Guard training. 1991.
  • Supervised overnight coverage of Pan Am Flight 103 after Libyan bomb killed 35 Syracuse University students over Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988.
  • Covered aftermath of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal plane crash from Cape Cod, 1999.
  • Greeted Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as Cornell Sun sports editor during daily's 100th anniversary dinner in May 1980. 

Jon Craig's Contributions

Six Arrested Linked To Two Fatal Heroin Overdoses In Westchester Six Arrested Linked To Two Fatal Heroin Overdoses In Westchester
Six Arrested Linked To Two Fatal Heroin Overdoses In Westchester HARRISON, N.Y. -- The Harrison Police Department arrested six people on Monday, including four alleged drug dealing suspects from the Bronx, after the recent overdose deaths of two local residents, ages 26 and 29.  Two young women from Harrison and Mamaroneck assisted in the heroin sales locally, police allege. A preliminary investigation revealed that the victims may have snorted or injected tainted heroin, which resulted in or contributed to their deaths, Harrison police said on Tuesday. Heroin, a highly addictive opioid used recreationally for its euphoric effects, is commonly packaged …
Burglary Under Investigation In Mamaroneck; Assorted Jewelry Stolen Burglary Under Investigation In Mamaroneck; Assorted Jewelry Stolen
Burglary Under Investigation In Mamaroneck; Assorted Jewelry Stolen This story has been updated. MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Town of Mamaroneck residents returned to their home on Murray Avenue on Sunday night only to find numerous items -- including assorted jewelry -- missing. Lt. Robert Koziak, a town police department spokesman, confirmed that detectives are investigating a burglary at the home. Koziak said the break-in occurred sometime between 10 a.m. on Friday June 24 and 10 p.m. on Sunday. Return to Daily Voice for updates.
Fugitive From Mexico Wanted For Gang Activity Apprehended In Dutchess Fugitive From Mexico Wanted For Gang Activity Apprehended In Dutchess
Fugitive From Mexico Wanted For Gang Activity Apprehended In Dutchess RHINEBECK, N.Y. – A 24-year-old criminal fugitive from Mexico was arrested last week by the Rhinebeck Police Department. The man was wanted in Mexico on a felony warrant for gang-related activity, Village of Rhinebeck police said in a press release. Rhinebeck police assisted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in capturing Juan Macario Martinez, who is expected to be deported, according to the news release. The Schenectady Police Department Capital District Safe Streets Task Force Gang Unit in Martinez' arrest on June 16. He was arrested o…
Ex-Westchester Teacher Accused Of Stealing $300K From Nephew Ex-Westchester Teacher Accused Of Stealing $300K From Nephew
Ex-Westchester Teacher Accused Of Stealing $300K From Nephew HARRISON, N.Y. -- A Harrison woman is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from her nephew and subsequently carrying out a multi-year tax fraud scheme, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. June Ann Swartz, 65, is accused of taking money from her nephew between 2008 and 2015 and failing to report it for tax purposes, county prosecutors said. Swartz, who is due in court Tuesday, has denied any wrongdoing through her defense attorney, Kerry Lawrence. Swartz faces criminal prosecution for second-degree grand larceny and three counts of fourth-degree tax fraud after…
Westchester Firefighters Union Dispute 'Very Much Alive,' Says Labor Expert Westchester Firefighters Union Dispute 'Very Much Alive,' Says Labor Expert
Westchester Firefighters Union Dispute 'Very Much Alive,' Says Labor Expert This story has been updated PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- A dispute over last month's abrupt firing of eight career firefighters by the Village of Port Chester is "very much alive,'' a Cornell University labor law expert said on Thursday. A private pre-hearing conference set by the New York State Public Employees Relations Board on the merits of the case is set for Monday June 27 before Melanie Wlasuk, an Administrative Law Judge for PERB. Sometimes differences are resolved at such conferences, according to a PERB spokesman. Otherwise, a date for a fact-finding hearing could be set, according…
Victims Of Fatal Route 9A Crash ID'd Victims Of Fatal Route 9A Crash ID'd
Victims Of Fatal Route 9A Crash ID'd HAWTHORNE, N.Y. -- Mount Pleasant police have released the identities of two people killed in the multi-vehicle accident involving a motorcycle on Route 9A in Hawthorne Wednesday. A 28-year-old motorcyclist from New Rochelle and a 79-year-old woman from Armonk were killed, police said on Thursday. Mount Pleasant Police Chief Paul Oliva said in a news release that the motorcyclist, Giuseppe Scaccia, had just left his job nearby at Optimum and was headed south on Route 9A near Dana Road when he struck a Buick sedan on the passenger side as the sedan turned into an access road to Home Depot. …
Summer Clouds Whipping Up Magical Views In White Plains Summer Clouds Whipping Up Magical Views In White Plains
Summer Clouds Whipping Up Magical Views In White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. --Daily Voice reader Jane Qiu XiangI took this photo of White Plains' city skyline on Tuesday. She suggested we call it "A City Reached Cloud." Email us your photos -- anytim
Burglary Suspect Caught By Off-Duty Mamaroneck Police Officer Burglary Suspect Caught By Off-Duty Mamaroneck Police Officer
Burglary Suspect Caught By Off-Duty Mamaroneck Police Officer MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- A 46-year-old Mamaroneck man has been arrested after he was arrested during an attempted burglary by an off-duty Village of Mamaroneck police officer. At about 8:20 p.m. on Monday, a police officer reportedly observed a suspect throw a large stone block at the front glass door of a commercial business at 859 Mamaroneck Ave. The officer identified himself and told the suspect he was under arrest. A foot pursuit ensued and the suspect was detained about a block away. After an investigation, the unidentified suspect from the Village of Mamaroneck was charged with third-deg…
Woman, 26, Killed In Dutchess Crash ID'd Woman, 26, Killed In Dutchess Crash ID'd
Woman, 26, Killed In Dutchess Crash ID'd NORTH EAST, N.Y. -- A 26-year-old woman was killed early Sunday in a one-car crash, according to the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office. Identified as the driver killed in the 5:35 a.m. rollover accident was Aubrey N. Schmitt of Canaan, Conn., a sheriff's office spokesman said on Monday afternoon. She was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car, according to the spokesman. The fatal one-car crash occurred on Sharon Road near Maple Avenue in the Town of North East, according to sheriff's deputies who responded to a 911 call. Upon their arrival, deputies observed Ms. Schmitt lying…
State Board Rules Against Fired Unionized Port Chester Firefighters State Board Rules Against Fired Unionized Port Chester Firefighters
State Board Rules Against Fired Unionized Port Chester Firefighters PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- The state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has denied the Port Chester paid firefighter union’s application for injunctive relief to rehire the Village’s paid firefighters.  They were fired by a vote of the village Board of Trustees, in a vote reported here. The firefighters’ union alleged that the Village of Port Chester had engaged in “improper practices” and caused “irreparable harm” that the union claimed would result from the decision to eliminate eight paid firefighter positions from Port Chester’s 2016-2017 budget. David P. Quinn, of PERB’s Office of Co…
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