Spring Valley Woman, Friends Accused of Witness Tampering

A Spring Valley woman awaiting trial on burglary charges has been indicted, along with her roommate and another man, on charges of bribing a witness in that case.

District Attorney Thomas Zugibe identified the defendants as Millie Sauvan of 29 Church St. West, Spring Valley, New York, Gelacio Morales-Lopez of 29 Church St. West, Spring Valley, New York and Patrick Zeitler of 657 Main St, Apartment 1, Sparkill, New York.

“Prospective witnesses must be protected from outside interference that could impact their testimony,” Zugibe said. “My office will not tolerate the bribing of, or tampering with, witnesses and is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who engage in such conduct.”

On Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, the three were arrested in the bribery attempts of the witness set to appear at Sauvan’s first-degree burglary trial, scheduled for Oct. 16 before the Honorable Rolf M. Thorsen in Rockland County Court.

In the weeks prior to the start of the trial, the witness was allegedly offered money by Morales-Lopez and Zeitler, on behalf of Sauvan, not to appear in court and testify against Sauvan.

According to the charges, the witness refused, but the men persisted.

After the witness reported the alleged bribery attempts to authorities, detectives with the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office Special Investigation Unit launched an investigation. During a subsequent sting operation, an individual posing as a relative of the witness arranged to meet Morales-Lopez and Zeitler for the purposes of completing the transaction.

When they arrived, both men were arrested and charged with attempting to bribe a witness. Sauvan, 39, was arrested the next day.

All three were arraigned before the Honorable Howard Gerber in the Town of Clarkstown Justice Court. Bail was set in the amount of $100,000 for Sauvan and $50,000 for both Morales-Lopez and Zeitler.

If convicted, they each face up to seven years in state prison.