PROSTITUTE WITH VA CLIENTS STRANGLED ON MONTROSE

CAMPUS -- Sabrina Rasa was a prostitute and drug addict who

had clients working at the VA hospital at Montrose, NY.

This story caught my attention a few days ago... but it was just another story about a body found on VA property.

Now, it has a whole new twist.  It appears the woman was a prostitute who had clients at the VA facility at Montrose, NY.

We have two stories... first is an early story... the second is about the prostitution connection.

First story here... http://www
.lohud.com/article/2009903280356

Story below:

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Woman found at VA hospital was strangled

By Susan Elan and Terence Corcoran
The Journal News

CORTLANDT - A 39-year-old Peekskill woman was found dead yesterday behind a vacant building on the grounds of the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Montrose, state police said.

The woman, whose body was found around noon, was identified by police as Sabrina Rasa, officials said.

A hospital employee was the first to find the body behind Building 11, a vacant structure that sits on a remote part of the 184-acre property. Police have released little information on their investigation, labeling the death only as suspicious and saying that they are still looking into what might have happened. An autopsy is planned for today.

Rasa had no known ties to the hospital, either as a patient or as an employee, said state police Lt. Dominick Chiumento of the Cortlandt barracks.

"I'm not sure why she's there," said Chiumento, adding that she had multiple addresses in Peekskill. "We're still trying to figure that out."

Police asked the hospital to provide surveillance video from the grounds to help in the investigation.

Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi said the discovery of the body is "the first incident of this serious magnitude" that she is aware of during her 18 years of service with the town.

"I am very saddened by this tragic incident," she said.

Officials said the circumstances surrounding the woman's death remain unclear, including whether a crime had been committed.

Josephine Schuda, a Department of Veterans Affairs spokeswoman in Washington, said that until it has been determined that a crime was committed, no decision would be made about whether to call in the FBI, which would have some jurisdiction in such cases.

The suspicious nature of the death stunned patients, employees and residential neighbors alike. The bucolic property sits along the banks of the Hudson River with expansive views of the water.

"It's a very quiet area," said Paul Krick, who lives next to the VA campus. "It's the first time I've heard of something like (this) in 40 years."

He said he often strolls on the campus, finding it perfectly safe.

Still others said they believe security is lax.

"It's terrible that it happened here. I think they need more security," said Walter Hollis, a post-Vietnam War-era veteran and patient at the hospital.

Many of the buildings on the property sit vacant, which might have been a contributing factor in the death, some said.

"Security needs to do a better job checking the vacant buildings around campus," said Glenn Richards, a Navy veteran who works at the hospital.

Bill Davis, president of Local 1119 of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union has repeatedly asked administrators to improve the "poor lighting" and increase the size of the police force, which has fewer than 30 officers to cover all shifts.

"We have been begging for more police officers," Davis said.

William Nazario of Montrose, commander of Chapter 21 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, has long lobbied to convert one of the empty buildings on the campus to house women veterans only. Last month, he took his concerns about cutbacks in spending at Montrose campus to members of Congress in Washington..

"The female veteran population is larger today than ever and we have to gear up to give them services in separate quarters, especially with the rate of rape and sexual harassment so high in the current military," Nazario said.

The 301-bed hospital, which opened in 1950, is among the top 20 employers in Westchester, with staff of 1,000 or more, according to a recent report by the state Comptroller's Office.

A plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs to move more services from Montrose to the VA hospital at Castle Point in Fishkill and to lease most of the Montrose acreage to a developer for 75 years has angered local veterans and worried many of the VA's employees. More medical services are needed at Montrose for aging veterans and those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, veterans and supporters said.

Reach Susan Elan at 845-228-2277.

Staff writers Hoa Nguyen and Robert Marchant contributed to this report.

                            click for more information -- a disabled veteran owned business

Second story here... http://www.lohud.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090331/NEWS01/903310351

Story below:

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Friend: Strangled prostitute had VA clients

Shawn Cohen and Terence Corcoran
The Journal News

MONTROSE - Sabrina Rasa was a prostitute and drug addict who had clients working at the Veterans Affairs hospital, where she was found strangled last week, her best friend said yesterday.

Her friend and her boyfriend told police investigators that she had been dropped off at the Montrose hospital several times, including once last Tuesday night - three days before she was found behind a vacant building on a remote part of the 184-acre facility off Route 9A.

The best friend, who did not want to be identified because she fears for her safety, said she has been interviewed by state police numerous times. She said Rasa had told her she had prostitution clients working at Building 29 at the VA hospital.

Rasa's boyfriend, Claudio Cedillo, 44, of Garrison, said he dropped her off at the hospital last Tuesday night, though he was not aware she was a prostitute. She told him she was meeting a "friend."

They shared this information with state police, who have yet to make an arrest in the slaying.

"We're still working on the investigation," Senior Investigator Brian Hoff of the state police in Cortlandt said yesterday.

Rasa, a 39-year-old mother of three, had a warm personality and sense of humor that endeared her to many, but she also had a history of substance abuse that would often plague her, friends said.

"She'd keep you laughing and joking," said William Boone, site manager of the Jan Peek House, a homeless shelter in Peekskill where Rasa stayed for several months a few years ago. "She left here clean and sober, then she was out. But a few months later, you could tell she had slipped."

The best friend, a recovering drug addict who works in the peer volunteer division of a Peekskill health-care program specializing in sexually transmitted diseases, said she met Rasa about 20 years ago when both were drug addicts.

The woman, who said she became best friends with Rasa, said Rasa would stay with her several nights a week and with her boyfriend in Garrison at other times.

"She wasn't just a drug addict and prostitute - she was a human being," the friend said. "She was just a real, real good person."

The friend said she last saw Rasa on Wednesday when she came by to drop off a basket full of belongings.

"She said she would be back to straighten up her stuff later," the woman said. "I never saw her again."

On Friday, she tried to call Rasa several times but couldn't get through. The friend also said Rasa nearly always traveled with a crack pipe, stored inside a cigar tube, tied around her neck. But police told the friend that when they found Rasa's body, they did not find the crack pipe, she said.

Cedillo said he had been living with Rasa on and off for three years. Cedillo, who speaks little English and was interviewed by The Journal News in Spanish, said he would often drive Rasa to meet male friends in Peekskill and Montrose.

On March 24, after driving her to a friend's house in Peekskill, Cedillo drove her to the VA hospital to meet another male friend, he said.

He offered to wait, but she told him she would stay overnight, Cedillo said. He said he tried calling her later but could not get through.

Cedillo, who said he also has been interviewed by police, said he is in disbelief.

"She's dead. I don't know what to do," he said. "I can't accept it. I'm waiting for her call. I'm still waiting for her call."

A spokeswoman for the VA hospital declined to comment on allegations that an employee was involved with Rasa.

"The VA is fully cooperating with the New York state police investigation," said Nancy Winter, the spokeswoman. "The allegation has not been shared with the VA by New York state police."

As state police continued their investigation yesterday, New York State Crime Stoppers offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Rasa's death.

Anyone with information on Rasa's death can call Crime Stoppers at 866-313-8477. The program allows a caller to avoid giving his or her name, even after a conviction is made and the reward money paid.

The Clark Funeral Home in Yorktown is handling arrangements, which are private.

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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