Pre-trial hearing held in DiBrizzi murder case

GOSHEN – A pre-trial hearing was held Monday in Orange County Court in the case of Dennis Sweeney of Walden, the man accused of killing restaurateur Cosimo DiBrizzi in the summer of 2004.

District Attorney Frank Phillips said DiBrizzi’s son, Nicolas, who was also shot, but survived, faced Sweeney in court.

“Mr. DiBrizzi’s son testified in court regarding the identification proceedings that were conducted by the Town of Newburgh Police,” he said. Phillips expects the judge to rule on the admissibility of that identification early next week.

It was on the morning of May 10, 2004 that an intruder in the DiBrizzi’s Balmville home shot Cosimo and Nicolas DiBrizzi.
The father died on August 30 while in the hospital.

Sweeney was arrested in early December 2007. He had just been paroled from state prison on October 15 after serving time for grand larceny.

He has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Cosimo DiBrizzi.