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

Police Track Down International Thieves, Recover $40K In Westchester Police Track Down International Thieves, Recover $40K In Westchester
Police Track Down International Thieves, Recover $40K In Westchester HARRISON, N.Y. -- License plate readers, vehicle tracking software and solid detective work by Harrison police led to the arrest of three natives of Chile involved in an international theft ring. Harrison Police announced the arrest of Jonathan Nievees Marrero, 28; Braulio Alejandro Besoain Ortiz, 25; and Valentina Naomi Vilches Ledezma 19, for their role in a larceny from a vehicle on Sunday. When the suspects were tracked in a rental car to a hotel in Queens, Harrison police recovered fake ID and about $40,000 in cash and stolen merchandise, according to Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marr…
Harrison Police Track Down International Thieves, Recover $40K Harrison Police Track Down International Thieves, Recover $40K
Harrison Police Track Down International Thieves, Recover $40K HARRISON, N.Y. -- License plate readers, vehicle tracking software and solid detective work by Harrison police led to the arrest of three natives of Chile involved in an international theft ring. Harrison Police announced the arrest of Jonathan Nievees Marrero, 28; Braulio Alejandro Besoain Ortiz, 25; and Valentina Naomi Vilches Ledezma 19, for their role in a larceny from a vehicle on Sunday. When the suspects were tracked in a rental car to a hotel in Queens, Harrison police recovered fake ID and about $40,000 in cash and stolen merchandise, according to Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marr…
Lowey Joins Mayor, Police, Gay Pride Leaders In Call For Gun Control Lowey Joins Mayor, Police, Gay Pride Leaders In Call For Gun Control
Lowey Joins Mayor, Police, Gay Pride Leaders In Call For Gun Control WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- U.S. Rep. Nita M. Lowey was joined by local elected officials, law enforcement and advocates for gay rights and crime prevention during a Friday press conference to call on Congress to pass tougher gun control laws. Lowey, a Democrat representing Westchester and Rockland counties, said, “Despite mass shooting after mass shooting, the Republican majority in Congress refuses to act on commonsense gun safety measures, even when the majority of Americans support those policies." “We grieve with the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence,'' Lowey said while …
Former IBM Worker Charged With Economic Espionage Former IBM Worker Charged With Economic Espionage
Former IBM Worker Charged With Economic Espionage A former software developer at Armonk-based IBM faces additional federal charges accusing him of economic espionage, prosecutors said. Xu Jiaqiang stole computer source codes to benefit the National Health and Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China as detailed in a superseding six-count indictment, according to this announcement by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Xu was initially arrested by the FBI in White Plains last December after being charged with one count of theft of trade secrets -- on which he pleaded not guilty. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at noon on the n…
Homeowner Scares Off Young, Blonde Burglar In Westchester Homeowner Scares Off Young, Blonde Burglar In Westchester
Homeowner Scares Off Young, Blonde Burglar In Westchester RYE, N.Y. -- Rye police are looking for a young blonde burglar who was frightened off by an alert homeowner during a break-in on Tuesday. Rye Police Commissioner Michael C. Corcoran Jr. said the home invasion occurred shortly after 6 a.m. on Oakland Beach Avenue near Forest Avenue. The Rye resident encountered the suspect on the stairs inside the home, Corcoran said on Wednesday.  The suspect is described as a young white female, about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 125 pounds. The suspect was wearing a white sweatshirt, white cap and had a long blonde ponytail visible through the…
Candlelight Vigils To Mourn Orlando Shooting Victims Candlelight Vigils To Mourn Orlando Shooting Victims
Candlelight Vigils To Mourn Orlando Shooting Victims This story has been updated.WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Hastings-on-Hudson, White Plains and Mamaroneck are among the Westchester County communities holding candlelight vigils this week for the victims of the Orlando mass shootings. Daily Voice previously reported about another vigil planned Thursday at 7 pm. at Peekskill Riverfront Green. A total of 49 people were shot and killed at the Pulse nightclub early Sunday morning in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. There will be a vigil in Hastings-on-Hudson for the Orlando victims starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, at Fulton Park -- adjacent …
Dutchess Trio Arrested On Burglary Charges Clearing 15 Break-Ins Countywide Dutchess Trio Arrested On Burglary Charges Clearing 15 Break-Ins Countywide
Dutchess Trio Arrested On Burglary Charges Clearing 15 Break-Ins Countywide HYDE PARK, N.Y. -- A 33-year-old Poughkeepsie man and two unidentified women have been arrested by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office in connection with recent burglaries at a Hyde Park gas station and more than a dozen other locations countywide. Jason M. Reed was arrested about 1:30 a.m. on Monday at a Shell gas station in the Town of Hyde Park. Reed has subsequently been charged with 14 other burglaries or break-in attempts after a Sheriff's Office investigation with the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, the Town of Hyde Park Police, the Town of East Fishkill Police, the Town…
Woman Wanted By State Police After Skipping Court In Fishkill Woman Wanted By State Police After Skipping Court In Fishkill
Woman Wanted By State Police After Skipping Court In Fishkill WAPPINGER, N.Y. -- A 27-year-old woman is wanted by state police after failing to appear for a court appearance on drug possession and prison contraband charges earlier this year. State police in the Wappinger barracks said Amanda L. Murphy originally was arrested in May 2015 for possessing a controlled substance and in July 2015 Murphy was arrested for entering Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill with a hypodermic needle containing heroin residue. State police said she is now wanted on charges of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, promoting prison contrab…
Residents Escape Two-Alarm Fire In Dutchess County Residents Escape Two-Alarm Fire In Dutchess County
Residents Escape Two-Alarm Fire In Dutchess County WEST CLINTON, N.Y. -- The Dutchess County Sheriff's Office reported everyone at 427 Lake St. escaped safely on Tuesday after a two-alarm fire engulfed a garage at that address. Two advanced life support units were called to the scene, but a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office said, "Everyone made it out." Return to Daily Voice for updates.
Two Escape Serious Injury After Car Hits Pole In Dobbs Ferry Two Escape Serious Injury After Car Hits Pole In Dobbs Ferry
Two Escape Serious Injury After Car Hits Pole In Dobbs Ferry DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. -- Two people escaped serious injury on Tuesday afternoon after a car struck a utility pole in Dobbs Ferry, police said. Village of Dobbs Ferry police, firefighters and emergency medical services units were called to the corner of Ashford Avenue and Broadway (Route 9) about 1 p.m. Police said the driver and a passenger suffered minor injuries. No tickets were issued. 
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