Peter Parente (courtesy of NRPD)

New Rochelle VFW Commander Peter Parente Pleads Guilty on Contempt Charges

Written By: Robert Cox

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Peter Parente has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of contempt for violating a court-ordered Order of Protection. He appeared in New Rochelle City Court on December 3rd. Parente was sentenced to a 1-year conditional discharge with a two-year order of protection against the defendant in favor or the victim, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

Parente was arrested three times in six months.

Parente was first arrested on November 25, 2017 on one count of Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a Class D Felony, a violent felony punishable from between two and seven years in prison and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th degree for possessing a firearm not permitted by his valid NYS Pistol Permit. Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail. 

The arrest followed a visit to the family home by New Rochelle Police following a domestic violence complaint filed against Parente with Westchester County Child Protective Services.

A stay away order of protection was granted to Parente’s wife by both the criminal court in New Rochelle and the Westchester County family court.

Parente was arrested a second time on May 3rd and charged with Criminal Contempt 2nd for two separate visits he made to his wife’s house in May in violation of the order of protection. 

Parente was arrested a third time on Tuesday June 5th. He was charged with another count of contempt after he contacted his wife by text message in violation of the stay away order.

In November, Parente was notified by Judge Anthony Carbone that any license or permit for the sale or possession of firearms Parente held was suspended and ordered Parente to turn over any firearms in his possession.

Parente allegedly failed to comply with the court order. Additional guns were later turned over to police after his wife notified New Rochelle police of guns stored in the family garage. More guns were later confiscated by police in Pennsylvania where Parente owns a vacation home.

The weapon confiscated by police that formed the basis of the criminal charge is a sawed-off shot gun with the serial number filed off.

Shortly after he was released from jail over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Parente issued a public statement denying there were charges of domestic violence pending against him and dismissing the gun charges.

“I was arrested for an old shot gun I had from desert storm 1991. Forgot I had it and the cops saw it. Plain and simple.”

Parente’s case was removed to the Westchester County Court’s Integrated Domestic Violence Court on May 14th.

According to court documents, the Integrated Domestic Violence Court is “a special court established as a forum to hear cases that are simultaneously pending in the courts if one of them is a domestic violence case in a criminal court and the other is a case pending in Supreme or Family Court that involves a party or witness in the domestic violence case and the other is a case in any of these other courts having a common party or in which a disposition may affect the interests of a party to the first case.”

Judge Susan M. Capeci found the case pending in Family Court involves a witness in the domestic violence part and ordered the removal of Parente’s case to her court in White Plains, NY.

Parente appeared in the Integrated Domestic Violence Court on May 22nd.

Parente was notified of the new contempt charge on June 4th and arraigned in New Rochelle City Court before Judge Carbone on Tuesday June 5th. He was released on bail the same day.

Parente is a member of the City of New Rochelle’s Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee. His role on the committee is under review according to City Spokesperson Kathy Gilwit.

The gun charges are still pending with the Grand Jury.

Woes Mount for Prominent New Rochelle Veteran After Third Arrest in Six Months

New Rochelle VFW Commander Peter Parente Arrested on Domestic Violence and Weapons Charges

Commander of New Rochelle VFW Referred to Westchester Grand Jury on Gun Charge