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

Blumenthal Calls For More Facts As NTSB Issues Report On Metro-North Crash Blumenthal Calls For More Facts As NTSB Issues Report On Metro-North Crash
Blumenthal Calls For More Facts As NTSB Issues Report On Metro-North Crash FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) criticized the preliminary report released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board into the deadliest accident in Metro-North's history, in which six people were killed at a railroad crossing in Valhalla, N.Y., nearly three weeks ago. The NTSB has said it could take a year to complete its full investigation of a train fire and explosion that followed a collision with a Mercedes SUV at the Commerce Street crossing. The SUV was on the track when it was struck by the northbound commuter train about 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3. …
Former White Plains Officer Left Suicide Note At Harrison Murder Scene Former White Plains Officer Left Suicide Note At Harrison Murder Scene
Former White Plains Officer Left Suicide Note At Harrison Murder Scene This story has been updated. HARRISON, N.Y. -- A five-page suicide note left by retired White Plains Police Officer Glen Hochman offers new details about a double murder-suicide in which Hochman shot his two youngest daughters early Saturday morning before killing himself, officials said Monday. These facts were disclosed Monday by Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini and Mayor Ronald Belmont during a news conference at Harrison Police Headquarters: Hochman's wife, Anamarie, had been out of town on a pre-planned trip. When no one answered her phone calls, she asked her daughte…
Details Emerge, But Questions Remain In Harrison Double Murder-Suicide Details Emerge, But Questions Remain In Harrison Double Murder-Suicide
Details Emerge, But Questions Remain In Harrison Double Murder-Suicide HARRISON, N.Y. -- Harrison police continue to investigate a double murder-suicide that resulted in the death of two teenage girls and their 52-year-old father. Police said Glen Hochman, who retired last month from the White Plains Police Department after 20 years, shot his youngest daughters and three family dogs before killing himself about 3:50 p.m. Saturday. Hochman's wife, Anamarie DiPietro-Hochman, and their oldest daughter, Samantha, were not home when police were called to 1 Adelphia Ave., Harrison. Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini told lohud.com on Sunday that a weapo…
Rye Man, 31, Found Dead In Port Chester School Parking Lot ID'd Rye Man, 31, Found Dead In Port Chester School Parking Lot ID'd
Rye Man, 31, Found Dead In Port Chester School Parking Lot ID'd This story has been updated. PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- The body of a 31-year-old Rye man was found Friday morning in a parking lot behind the Corpus Christi-Holy Rosary School. Friday afternoon, after notifying his relatives from Port Chester, police identified the dead man as Emery Stewart of 95 Maple Ave. in Rye.   Police units and  Emergency Medical Service personnel arrived to the school, located at 134 S. Regent St., shortly before 7:30 a.m. They found Stewart's partially clothed body. Police are treating the death of the apparently otherwise healthy man as suspicious. "No outwar…
Port Chester Man Sentenced After Impersonating A Police Officer Upstate Port Chester Man Sentenced After Impersonating A Police Officer Upstate
Port Chester Man Sentenced After Impersonating A Police Officer Upstate PORT CHESTER, N.Y -- The former owner of a White Plains uniform store -- who got in trouble with the law when he was accused of defrauding the City of Rye in 2013 -- was sentenced Thursday on separate, reduced criminal charges in Saratoga Springs City Court after pretending to be a police officer last year. John B. Holmes, 53, of Port Chester, was arrested at the Saratoga Springs police station in October 2014 on a warrant for second-degree criminal impersonation for impersonating a public servant, a misdemeanor, according to police reports. He also was ticketed for unauthorized red lighti…
Thanks To Harsh Winter, Port Chester Car Wash Has Best Season In 15 Years Thanks To Harsh Winter, Port Chester Car Wash Has Best Season In 15 Years
Thanks To Harsh Winter, Port Chester Car Wash Has Best Season In 15 Years PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- Bad winters aren't bad news for some businesses. Car washes are a shining example. Hope Klein, owner of US 1 Brushless Car Wash a block away from Interstates 95 and 287 in Port Chester was dressed for frigid weather Thursday, but had a huge smile on her face when asked how many dirty cars were coming out clean daily at her establishment. "I can't say,'' Klein said, "but it's our busiest winter in 15 years." Wearing a Fargo-like hunter's cap and collecting cash nonstop, Klein said the snowy conditions and lack of rainfall has combined for a win-win season. Her…
Westchester County Leaders Mostly Happy About HUD Case Court Decision Westchester County Leaders Mostly Happy About HUD Case Court Decision
Westchester County Leaders Mostly Happy About HUD Case Court Decision WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- In what Weschester County officials called a victory in their ongoing court battle against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that HUD funding decisions are reviewable by courts. County Executive Rob Astorino, who was criticized for his hardline stanch by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in last year's gubernatorial race, said the Second Circuit decision "upholds the county's right to due process against federal overreach." Astorino had argued that “HUD acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner” when it began withhol…
Frozen Sprinkler System Bursts, Flooding Mamaroneck Restaurant, Bar Frozen Sprinkler System Bursts, Flooding Mamaroneck Restaurant, Bar
Frozen Sprinkler System Bursts, Flooding Mamaroneck Restaurant, Bar MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Frigid temperatures are being blamed for a major flood that closed down a restaurant and an adjoining bar in the Village of Mamaroneck on Wednesday afternoon. A fire sprinkler system burst in the ceiling at Rosa's La Scarbitta Ristorante, 215 Halstead Ave. Mamaroneck Fire Department and Village Public Works crews were at the scene about 2 p.m.  "I'm devastated. I'm sorry for my customers,'' said Rosa Merenda, owner and chef at Rosa's La Scarbitta Ristorante at 215 Halstead Ave. Merenda said she hopes the restaurant can reopen in a week. Most of the flooding wen…
Mamaroneck Relay Team Wins Millrose Games With Fastest Time Nationwide Mamaroneck Relay Team Wins Millrose Games With Fastest Time Nationwide
Mamaroneck Relay Team Wins Millrose Games With Fastest Time Nationwide MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- The Mamaroneck High School girls' 4x800 relay team made the Tigers' track squad proud Saturday by winning gold at the prestigious Millrose Games. In a highly competitive race at the New York Armory, the Mamaroneck foursome recorded the fastest time of the indoor track season nationwide for first place in the event, with a time of 9:09.36. Lauren Chapey, Katie DeVore, Lauren Shpiz and Shari Rauls won the Eastern States Championship in the relay, which spans nearly two miles. In an exciting finish, junior Shari Rauls outsprinted defending champion Bronxville's ancho…
Purdys Train Incident Being Investigated As An Attempted Suicide Purdys Train Incident Being Investigated As An Attempted Suicide
Purdys Train Incident Being Investigated As An Attempted Suicide PURDYS, N.Y. -- Friday's incident in which a man in his mid-20s was struck by a southbound Metro-North train near the Purdys railroad station is being investigated by police as an attempted suicide, officials said Monday. The man's name is not being released because he is recuperating from serious injuries at Westchester County Medical Center, an MTA spokesman said. The man was hit by the train at 4:25 p.m. Friday, causing commuter train delays in both directions. He was conscious when he was transported to Westchester County Medical Center, the MTA said. He was admitted to the medical …
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