Jon Craig

Reporter

[email protected]

Pleasantville native Jon Craig is special editor for the Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess Daily Voice sites. He is also the primary reporter for Daily Voice Plus Politics in Westchester and Fairfield.

Jon graduated from Cornell University and received his master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Across a 35-year career, he's worked as a reporter for daily newspapers in Chicago, New York, Ohio & Washington, D.C and as managing editor for weekly newspapers in Rye, White Plains and Harrison.

Jon also writes periodically for the Cornell Chronicle.

Career Highlights:

  • Covered Metro-North train wreck that killed a motorist and five commuters, 2015
  • Researched state investigative project for PublicIntegrity.org, 2011-12
  • National MADD award for database analysis of repeat drunk drivers in Ohio, 2008.
  • Henry F. Guggenheim Fellow, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2010.
  • Sentenced to jail for protecting confidential sources (won on appeal), 1999.
  • Broke 30th anniversary story about Kent State shootings — using FBI records, resurrecting theory a student informant triggered fatal National Guard volley, May 2000.
  • Covered Ground Zero after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.
  • Uncovered voting problems before & during presidential recount in Ohio, 2004.
  • Witnessed botched Death Row execution of Romell Broom in 2009, one of more than a dozen I covered; Wrote about three inmates whose death sentences were commuted to life without parole.
  • Won IRE, SDX and multiple national & state awards for series led by Erik Kriss investigating New York General Assembly. 1994.
  • Guest lecturer at universities in NY & Ohio. Taught Syracuse high school journalism class.
  • Co-authored IRE-award winning series on illegal restraints/beatings at juvenile detention centers. Gov. Mario Cuomo had NY inspector general confirm what Hart Seely and I found at Division for Youth & fired top directors, 1993.
  • Survived Air Force Kool School training at North Pole, 1996.
  • Covered Persian Gulf wars, including 2002 bomb missions from Turkey and stateside Army/Air Guard training. 1991.
  • Supervised overnight coverage of Pan Am Flight 103 after Libyan bomb killed 35 Syracuse University students over Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988.
  • Covered aftermath of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal plane crash from Cape Cod, 1999.
  • Greeted Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as Cornell Sun sports editor during daily's 100th anniversary dinner in May 1980. 

Jon Craig's Contributions

Man, 27, Surrenders In Greenburgh In New Year's Day Assault Man, 27, Surrenders In Greenburgh In New Year's Day Assault Man, 27, Surrenders In Greenburgh In New Year's Day Assault
Man, 27, Surrenders In Greenburgh In New Year's Day Assault GREENBURGH, NY. -- A 27-year-old from Redding, Conn., surrendered to Greenburgh police on Friday on a felony assault charge related to a beating that took place on New Year's Day, police said. Elwood Nesser of 108 Sport Hill Road in Redding appeared at Greenburgh Police Headquarters with his attorney.  Nesser was charged with one count of second-degree assault, a Class D felony. He was arraigned in Greenburgh Town Court before Judge Delores Braithwaite and released on $25,000 bond. He is due for another Town Court appearance on Friday Feb. 13. The arrest stems from an incident at 1:1…
Edgemont High Holds Community Meeting, Bereavement Help Edgemont High Holds Community Meeting, Bereavement Help Edgemont High Holds Community Meeting, Bereavement Help
Edgemont High Holds Community Meeting, Bereavement Help GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- School officials held an informal community meeting Friday at 4 p.m. at Edgemont High School to discuss the Metro-North tragedy in which six people were killed, including Ellen Brody, an Edgemont mother of three. Brody's oldest daughters, Danielle and Julia, graduated from Edgemont High in 2010 and 2013, respectively. A third daughter, Alexa, is a junior at EHS. Patty Donovan-Duff, director of The Bereavement Center of Westchester, led Friday's meeting. Counselors, school psychologists and administrators will also be available for support. Superintendent Victoria …
Edgemont 'Mommy' Of Three Gave Smiles, Laughter Before Tragic Train Wreck Edgemont 'Mommy' Of Three Gave Smiles, Laughter Before Tragic Train Wreck Edgemont 'Mommy' Of Three Gave Smiles, Laughter Before Tragic Train Wreck
Edgemont 'Mommy' Of Three Gave Smiles, Laughter Before Tragic Train Wreck DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. -- Through tears, hugging and laughter, Ellen Brody's three daughters, husband, brother, mother, uncle, rabbi and closest friends shared countless happy memories of their lives together Friday. Brody, 49, was killed Tuesday when her Mercedes SUV was struck by a Metro-North train at a Valhalla railroad crossing, triggering a fire that killed five commuters. During funeral services at Chabad of the Rivertowns, the Chappaqua jeweler from Edgemont was described as a consummate networker, matchmaker, social worker and storyteller.  Rabbi Benjy Silverman said that Brody d…
NTSB Focuses On Train Wreck Damage, Calling Passenger Fatalities Very Rare NTSB Focuses On Train Wreck Damage, Calling Passenger Fatalities Very Rare NTSB Focuses On Train Wreck Damage, Calling Passenger Fatalities Very Rare
NTSB Focuses On Train Wreck Damage, Calling Passenger Fatalities Very Rare TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- Federal National Transportation Safety Board officials spent Wednesday examining the wreckage of Tuesday's Metro-North train-car collision to determine why it resulted in six fatalities. NTSB Board member Robert Sumwalt said that during the next five to seven days, its railroad safety experts will try to determine: * Why was Ellen Brody's Mercedes-Benz SUV on the track when the express train passed through at about 60 mph. * Why did the accident result in train passenger fatalities?  Leading the search for those answers is Sumwalt. "We are examining the stren…
Driver Of SUV Worked At Chappaqua Jewelry Store For 15 Years Driver Of SUV Worked At Chappaqua Jewelry Store For 15 Years Driver Of SUV Worked At Chappaqua Jewelry Store For 15 Years
Driver Of SUV Worked At Chappaqua Jewelry Store For 15 Years This story has been updated. CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- Co-workers at ICD Contemporary Jewelers in Chappaqua described Ellen Brody, 49, of Edgemont -- the driver of the Mercedes Benz SUV that triggered Tuesday's fatal Metro-North train wreck -- as loving, responsible, a rule follower. She was "the life of the jewelry store" at 75 S. Greeley Ave., where she worked faithfully for 15 years. Store owner Varda Singer and co-worker Virginia Shasha called Brody "warm, kind, a great mom, a great worker, very responsible, very reliable. We can't believe she is gone." Brody would have turned 50 on …
Some Metro-North Passengers Walked Aimlessly Until Help Arrived Some Metro-North Passengers Walked Aimlessly Until Help Arrived Some Metro-North Passengers Walked Aimlessly Until Help Arrived
Some Metro-North Passengers Walked Aimlessly Until Help Arrived MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -- For some passengers, the minutes seemed like hours, but help was on the way. Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino described the scene Tuesday of the Metro-North wreck north of Commerce Street in Hawthorne that claimed six lives. "Walking through Gate of Heaven Cemetery, walking on the Taconic (Parkway). Trying to find a way home,'' Astorino said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at an impromptu news conference at the crash scene about 11 p.m., said, "This is a truly ugly and brutal night." Flames shot from the first railcar and black smoke billowed from its windows.…
Astorino Calls It 'A Miracle Anyone Escaped' The First Metro-North Railcar Astorino Calls It 'A Miracle Anyone Escaped' The First Metro-North Railcar Astorino Calls It 'A Miracle Anyone Escaped' The First Metro-North Railcar
Astorino Calls It 'A Miracle Anyone Escaped' The First Metro-North Railcar MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -- Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino called Tuesday "a day we never want to deal with." Astorino, a forrmer Metro North commuter from Hawthorne, described the "horrific scene" he witnessed about 7 p.m. when he toured the wreckage of a commuter train that struck a Jeep Cherokee at the Commerce Street crossing. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of North Castle also visited the fatal crash site. Astorino said the third, electric rail had pierced the bottom of the train and cut through the entire first car, melting it beyond recognition. "It's a miracle anyone escaped the first…
Funeral Services Saturday In White Plains For 23-Year-Old Harrison Student Funeral Services Saturday In White Plains For 23-Year-Old Harrison Student Funeral Services Saturday In White Plains For 23-Year-Old Harrison Student
Funeral Services Saturday In White Plains For 23-Year-Old Harrison Student HARRISON, N.Y. -- Funeral services will be held on Saturday for Oluchukwu Onuora, the 23-year-old from West Harrison who died Jan. 24 after being struck by a car in Ithaca, N.Y. Calling hours will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in White Plains. Services will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church, located at 3 Carhart Ave. Burial will be at 2 p.m. at Kensico Cemetery, Lakeview Avenue in Valhalla. Onuora, known by friends and family as Olu, was expected to graduate in May from Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Charles H. D…
Police ID I-95 Rye Accident Victims Struck, Killed Standing Outside Cars Police ID I-95 Rye Accident Victims Struck, Killed Standing Outside Cars Police ID I-95 Rye Accident Victims Struck, Killed Standing Outside Cars
Police ID I-95 Rye Accident Victims Struck, Killed Standing Outside Cars This story has been updated. RYE, N.Y. -- State police released the names on Tuesday of the two Connecticut drivers who were killed in a multiple-car accident on Interstate 95 in Rye on Monday: Kayla Ann Donnelly-Smith, 22, of Hamden, and Winter K. Krzysztof, 61, of Hartford. Hazardous driving conditions due to snow on I-95 appear to have contributed to the double fatal accident near the Connecticut border, according to state police. State police were investigating a minor property damage accident involving an airport shuttle van and Lexus sedan about 1:15 p.m. just north of Exit 22 …
Two Killed In I-95 Truck-Car Accident Near Connecticut Border Two Killed In I-95 Truck-Car Accident Near Connecticut Border Two Killed In I-95 Truck-Car Accident Near Connecticut Border
Two Killed In I-95 Truck-Car Accident Near Connecticut Border This story has been updated. RYE, N.Y. -- The two drivers killed in a multiple-car accident in Rye on Monday were from Connecticut, state police said Tuesday. The identities of a male and female were being withheld pending notification of their families. They are from Hamden and Hartford. Hazardous driving conditions due to snow on Interstate 95 appear to have contributed to a double fatal accident Monday afternoon near the Connecticut border, according to state police. As state police were investigating a van-car accident just north of Exit 22 on I-95, a Dodge caravan lost contro…
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