New City Man Indicted on Burglary Charge

A New City man has been indicted by a Rockland County grand jury on burglary and reckless endangerment charges stemming from a 2012 incident at Rockland Psychiatric Center, where a security officer was nearly run down by a getaway car.

Joseph Ostuni, 51, of 20 Knob Hill Road, New City, was arrested by State Police after the 12:40 p.m. incident on Sept. 7, 2012, at Rockland Psychiatrict Center in Orangeburg. Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said a state Mental Health safety officer spotted Ostuni at a vacant building on the RPC campus.

Zugibe said Ostuni hid behind a door a car and then got into the vehicle. Zugibe said the security officer got out of his patrol car and approached Ostuni, who then put his car into reverse and drove toward the security officer's car.

The security officer, Zugibe said, had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by Ostuni's car.

Ostuni is charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree reckless endangerment and possession of burglar's tools.