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

Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital
Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Mamaroneck village police responded to an accident Friday afternoon in which an SUV landed on its roof in the middle of Rockland Avenue. Sgt. Sandra DiRuzza, spokeswoman for the village police, said that about 3 p.m., several 911 were received about the one-car crash. DiRuzza said the driver, a 71-year-old Mamaroneck woman, suffered non-life threatening injuries. She was taken to the hospital, DiRuzza said. The cause of the accident is unknown at this time, DiRuzza said.
'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains 'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains
'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- There's a new photography exhibit at the White Plains Public Library that gives a visual tour of the city's unique architecture. "Hidden in Plain Sight: Details of White Plains Architecture,'' by longtime city resident Barry Katzen, is on display at the library until August 2. The exhibit consists of 40 photographs that celebrate architectural details on the older buildings in downtown White Plains -- the types of details most people don't see as they rush around town. People who have seen the photos tell Katzen that they walk by the buildings every day, but never …
County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters
County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -- Nine fire recruits graduated Friday from the Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy in Valhalla. The new professional firefighters were awarded their certificates during a graduation ceremony held at the Robert Schnibbe Jr. Support Services Building at the Department of Emergency Services. County Executive Rob Astorino and Emergency Services Commissioner John M. Cullen welcomed the new firefighter graduates. “It’s never easy to be a recruit in the Fire Academy but a class of nine is much smaller than usual.  Talk about having nowhere to hide," Astorino …
Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!' Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!'
Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!' RYE, N.Y. -- For Julia Lawrence, a 2002 graduate of Rye Country Day School, appearing on "Jeopardy!" on Friday night is a lifelong dream.  "It was the only item on my bucket list,'' Lawrence told Daily Voice on Thursday. "Jeopardy!" is celebrating its 31st year, and Lawrence turns 31 on Sunday, so it's fitting that her appearance on the game show, taped in April in Los Angeles will air at 7 p.m. Friday on WABC-TV. Five shows are taped in one day, and Lawrence's show was taped last, so she got to watch competitors as they advanced toward her Friday show. "Just to be in the company …
Teen Escapes Injury After Car Flips Over Avoiding Deer In Putnam Valley Teen Escapes Injury After Car Flips Over Avoiding Deer In Putnam Valley
Teen Escapes Injury After Car Flips Over Avoiding Deer In Putnam Valley PUTNAM VALLEY, N.Y. -- A 19-year-old driver escaped injury after his car flipped onto its roof at 9:35 p.m. Wednesday. A spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff's Department identified the driver as Fabiano R. Olveira of Cortlandt Manor.  Olveira was driving alone in his 2007 Mazda sedan on Oscawana Lake Road in Putnam Valley when he swerved to avoid a deer crossing the road, according to Sheriff's Capt. William J. McNamara. According to the accident report, Olveira denied any injury and did not require medical attention. Olveira reportedly lost control of his car, crossed the roa…
Bear, Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Fairfield County Bear, Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Fairfield County
Bear, Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Fairfield County FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Wildlife experts differ on the exact cause, but one fact everyone agrees on: There have been more sightings of wild animals in Fairfield County and neighboring counties in 2015 than in recent years. Whether it's the wetter, warmer weather, increased housing starts or heightened public attention, area police are receiving more reports of coyotes, foxes, deer and geese -- as well as encounters with bears and hawks. Bear sightings were reported from all corners of Weston on July 3, according to the town’s animal control officer. And a bear was tranquilized and ca…
Greenburgh Police Chief Cites Brave, Intelligent 'Father-Son Team' Greenburgh Police Chief Cites Brave, Intelligent 'Father-Son Team'
Greenburgh Police Chief Cites Brave, Intelligent 'Father-Son Team' GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- After an extensive search involving state, federal and local agencies, a revolver used to shoot a retired police officer on Monday was recovered in Yonkers, Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney announced at a Tuesday news conference. McNerney said the weapon police believe was used in the attempted murder of Peter Schmidt Sr., a 22-year veteran of Greenburgh's police force, was found in a grassy portion of the shoulder along the Sprain Brook Parkway near Tuckahoe Road. McNerney identified Taqiy Walton, 34, of Elmsford "as the subject that shot the gun." Walton has …
Elmsford Men Charged With Attempted Murder After Ex-Greenburgh Officer Shot Elmsford Men Charged With Attempted Murder After Ex-Greenburgh Officer Shot
Elmsford Men Charged With Attempted Murder After Ex-Greenburgh Officer Shot This story has been updated. GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Two men from Elmsford have been charged with second-degree attempted murder, a felony, in connection with Monday's shooting of a retired Greenburgh police officer who police say interrupted a robbery in progress. Peter Schmidt Sr., who retired in 2005, was shot twice at 5 Payne Road, about 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The home at that address, which is in Schmidt's neighborhood, was unoccupied. Schmidt was mowing his lawn when he observed someone possibly breaking into the vacant home. When he confronted two men leaving the rear of the home, p…
Greenburgh Neighbors Praise Police, Call Off-Duty Officer 'Courageous' Greenburgh Neighbors Praise Police, Call Off-Duty Officer 'Courageous'
Greenburgh Neighbors Praise Police, Call Off-Duty Officer 'Courageous' GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Bayberry Road residents praised Greenburgh and Yonkers police for catching two suspects shortly after their neighbor, a retired police officer, was shot interrupting a break-in on Monday. Peter Schmidt Sr., who retired in 2005 after more than 20 years with the Greenburgh Police Department, was shot twice when he confronted two men exiting an unoccupied home at 5 Payne Road, in the North Elmsford section of the township, according to Chief Chris McNerney. Neighbors called Schmidt courageous for spotting and investigating suspicious activity in a home at the corner of …
Retired Greenburgh Police Officer Shot During Burglary, Suspects Caught Retired Greenburgh Police Officer Shot During Burglary, Suspects Caught
Retired Greenburgh Police Officer Shot During Burglary, Suspects Caught This story has been updated. WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- A retired Greenburgh police officer was shot and hospitalized Monday after interrupting a burglary in progress. Retired police officer Peter Schmidt is in stable condition after confronting apparent burglars as they were walking from the rear of 5 Payne Road in Elmsford, Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney said late Monday afternoon. Schmidt lives in the neighborhood and knew the house was unoccupied at the time, McNerney said. After a brief discussion, one of the subjects shot Schmidt twice, once in the arm and once in the …
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