December 1

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Chunnel makes breakthrough, 1990
American Revolution
Washington establishes winter quarters at Morristown, 1779
Automotive
Ford's assembly line starts rolling, 1913
Civil War
Lincoln gives State of the Union address, 1862
Cold War
Antarctica made a military-free continent, 1959
Crime
Defense presents its case in Hamptons murder trial, 2004
Disaster
Students die in Chicago school fire, 1958
General Interest
Presidential election goes to the House, 1824
Sergey Kirov murdered, 1934
Rosa Parks ignites bus boycot, 1955
Hollywood
Trailblazing comic Richard Pryor born, 1940
Literary
Due date for Victor Hugo, 1830
Music
Bette Midler is born in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1945
Old West
Elfego Baca battles Anglo cowboys, 1884
Presidential
Congress decides outcome of presidential election, 1824
Sports
Lee Trevino is born, 1939
Vietnam War
Johnson Administration makes plans to bomb North Vietnam, 1964
Situation in Cambodia worsens, 1971
World War I
New state declared in the Balkans, 1919
World War II
Stettinius succeeds Hull as secretary of state, 1944

Crime

Dec 1, 2004:

Defense presents its case in Hamptons murder trial

Previous Day December 1 Calendar Next Day

On this day in 2004, the defense for Daniel Pelosi, an electrician on trial for the killing of his girlfriend’s estranged husband, R. Theodore “Ted” Ammon, a wealthy investment banker, begins presenting its case in a Riverhead, New York, courtroom. Less than two weeks later, a jury found Pelosi guilty of Ammon’s murder.

On October 22, 2001, the 52-year-old Ammon, whose fortune was worth a reported $80 million, was found bludgeoned to death at his mansion in tony East Hampton, New York. Police determined that robbery did not appear to be a motive for the slaying. At the time, Ammon was in the midst of a bitter divorce from his second wife, Generosa, with whom he had two children. Three months after Ammon’s murder, Generosa, who inherited her late husband’s estate because their divorce was not yet finalized, wed Pelosi. The blonde socialite and the then-married, high-school dropout from Long Island became romantically involved in 2000 after she hired him to work on a Manhattan townhouse she was renovating.

Pelosi went on lavish spending sprees with his new wife’s money, and the marriage soured. In August 2003, Generosa, then 46, died from breast cancer. In her will, she left the bulk of her wealth to her children, not Pelosi. In March 2004, Pelosi was arrested and charged with Ted Ammon’s murder. When the high-profile case went to trial in the fall of that year, amidst great media interest, prosecutors contended that the electrician, who had a history of financial problems, substance abuse and prior arrests, had slain Ammon to get access to his millions. The prosecution called several witnesses who testified Pelosi had admitted to them that he killed the Wall Street mogul. Additionally, prosecutors pointed to the fact that Pelosi had overseen the installation of a security camera system in Ted Ammon’s Hamptons home--the same system police believed was disabled by the financier’s killer.

On December 1, Pelosi’s defense began its case, arguing that Ammon was bi-sexual and could have been slain by someone he met on a gay beach near his home. Pelosi, who maintained he had nothing to do with Ammon’s murder and said he was buying beer with a friend on the night of the crime, later testified it was Generosa who wanted her husband dead. The electrician said Generosa had asked if he knew anyone who would kill Ammon—or if Pelosi would do it himself. There was no physical evidence directly linking Pelosi to the crime, and he accused the witnesses who testified against him in court were lying.

On December 13, 2004, after deliberating for two-and-a-half days, a jury convicted Pelosi of second-degree murder. In January 2005, the 41-year-old was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Later that year, “Murder in the Hamptons,” a made-for-television movie about the case, was released.

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Previous Day December 1 Calendar Next Day

This Week in History, Dec 1 - Dec 7

Dec 01, 2004
Defense presents its case in Hamptons murder trial
Dec 02, 1991
Kennedy cousin rape trial begins
Dec 03, 1989
The clothes make the man . . . guilty
Dec 04, 1969
Police kill two members of the Black Panther Party
Dec 04, 2009
Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy
Dec 05, 1873
The Boston Belfry Murderer kills his first victim
Dec 06, 1868
Train robbers reach the end of the line
Dec 07, 1993
Commute of terror

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