Self-Proclaimed P.I. Sentenced for Witness Tampering

By David Brand

A self proclaimed private investigator was sentenced to up to three years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to bribing a witness.

The Bronx resident, 56, pleaded guilty before Queens Supreme Court Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas in July after he bribed and intimidated a witness to change his testimony in a gun case against Gallman’s associate Frederick Freeman.

“Those who witness a crime and are slated to testify in court must always be protected from outside influence and interference,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan in a statement. “Our office will not under any circumstances tolerate the intimidation of a witness or tampering with witnesses.”

The witness tampering was related to a 2013 gun case against Freeman.

Freeman and his girlfriend Raneisha Williams visited Williams’ brother on Guy Brewer Boulevard in Jamaica, where Freeman brandished a gun, in January 2013. Someone called 911 and Freeman and Williams went to another apartment.

When police arrived, they found a gun in Williams’ purse.

Freeman, who was eventually convicted of gun possession in 2016, attempted to intimidate his girlfriend’s brother with Gallman’s help, prosecutors said.

Gallman and Freeman also attempted to intimidate the victim’s family by threatening to hurt them if they testified against Freeman.