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

Concern About Ebola Is High, But No Cases In Westchester, Astorino Says Concern About Ebola Is High, But No Cases In Westchester, Astorino Says Concern About Ebola Is High, But No Cases In Westchester, Astorino Says
Concern About Ebola Is High, But No Cases In Westchester, Astorino Says WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Concern about Ebola is spreading fast throughout the nation. Westchester County got its first scare on Wednesday after the news broke late in the morning that an unidentified Westchester resident was being monitored for possible symptoms of the disease. County Executive Rob Astorino said at an early afternoon press conference that the county Health Department has received 11 inquiries about Ebola-like symptoms since August. None has turned out to be Ebola. The latest case involved a man with symptoms who arrived at a undisclosed Westchester hospital Tuesda…
Expert: Soap, Water For Full 20 Seconds Will Kill Fatal Respiratory Virus Expert: Soap, Water For Full 20 Seconds Will Kill Fatal Respiratory Virus Expert: Soap, Water For Full 20 Seconds Will Kill Fatal Respiratory Virus
Expert: Soap, Water For Full 20 Seconds Will Kill Fatal Respiratory Virus WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The emerging respiratory virus that killed at least four people including a 4-year-old in New Jersey will not be stopped by this season's flu shot, a public health expert said Tuesday. Alcohol disinfectants or passive washing of hands also won't eliminate the threat of the potentially deadly enterovirus-D68 that has 594 confirmed cases in 43 states since mid-August, according to Dr. Robert Amler, dean and professor of public health at New York Medical College in Valhalla. Washing hands with soap and water for a full 20 seconds typically does work against EV-D…
Village Police Warn Mamaroneck Property Owners About Scam Village Police Warn Mamaroneck Property Owners About Scam Village Police Warn Mamaroneck Property Owners About Scam
Village Police Warn Mamaroneck Property Owners About Scam MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Village officials and Mamaroneck police Tuesday warned residents of a possible door-to-door scam. Officials received complaints that one or more people "are walking around neighborhoods of the Village and advising that the Village or some other government entity is going to take property by eminent domain for development either as commercial or residential property." This is false information and is potentially a scam, according to the Mamaroneck village manager. The village is issuing this statement that the village has no plans to acquire property or engage in c…
'Serial Groper' Pleads Guilty, Westchester DA Says 'Serial Groper' Pleads Guilty, Westchester DA Says 'Serial Groper' Pleads Guilty, Westchester DA Says
'Serial Groper' Pleads Guilty, Westchester DA Says WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A serial groper entered guilty pleas Tuesday to a string of sex crimes in June, according to Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore. Guillermo Merino, 39, of 19 Washington Ave. in New Rochelle, faces up to four years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 2, DiFiore said in a press statement. New Rochelle police arrested Merino on June 30. He is being held on $25,000 bail after entering guilty pleas on one count of persistent sexual abuse and one count of failure to register as a sex offender when he moved to New Rochelle from New York City earlier this…
Astorino Says Cuomo Prefers '1945' Radio Debate Format Astorino Says Cuomo Prefers '1945' Radio Debate Format Astorino Says Cuomo Prefers '1945' Radio Debate Format
Astorino Says Cuomo Prefers '1945' Radio Debate Format WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- After making an endorsement in the State Senate District 40 race in Thornwood on Monday, County Executive Rob Astorino accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of continuing to duck televised debates. Astorino, Cuomo's Republican Party challenger, said the Democratic governor agreed to appear at two debates this month, one hosted by The Buffalo News and a second co-sponsored by WNYC Public Radio and The Wall Street Journal -- without consulting the three other candidates for governor. Although the first debate would be televised by Buffalo public television and aired by its…
'Out Of The Darkness' Walkers Raise Money To Fight Suicide 'Out Of The Darkness' Walkers Raise Money To Fight Suicide 'Out Of The Darkness' Walkers Raise Money To Fight Suicide
'Out Of The Darkness' Walkers Raise Money To Fight Suicide MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Nearly 600 area residents raised more than $55,000 on Sunday, Oct. 5, during an "Out of the Darkness" walk in Harbor Island Park to raise awareness about mental illness. "The walk went exceptionally well today,'' said Harrison native Bill Zito, board chairman for the Westchester Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Zito said he expected another $10,000 to be collected from matching donations promised by local businesses. "It was our first year at Harbor Island and the weather and location were in great agreement,'' said ZIto, a retired police…
Harrison Speeding Stop Leads To Child Support Arrest Harrison Speeding Stop Leads To Child Support Arrest Harrison Speeding Stop Leads To Child Support Arrest
Harrison Speeding Stop Leads To Child Support Arrest HARRISON, N.Y. -- A speeding stop along Westchester Avenue led police to arrest a New Jersey man on a charge of failing to pay child support. Harrison police said that Ricardo A. Sanchez, 54, of River Road in Teaneck, N.J., was clocked driving 60 mph in a 40 mph zone in the 500 block of Westchester Avenue about 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 29. A computer check found that Sanchez's driving privileges had been suspended for failure to pay child support, police said.  Sanchez is due in Harrison Town Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21. His vehicle was towed and impounded.  
Tailgating Stop Gets BMW Impounded In Harrison Tailgating Stop Gets BMW Impounded In Harrison Tailgating Stop Gets BMW Impounded In Harrison
Tailgating Stop Gets BMW Impounded In Harrison HARRISON, N.Y. -- A tailgating arrest on Wednesday, Oct. 1, led police to discover another violation that resulted in an Armonk man losing his red BMW to an impound lot. Harrison police said that Nick G. DeClemente, 37, of 68 N. Greenwich Road, Armonk, was spotted tailgating while traveling east in the 2100 block of Westchester Avenue near Kenilworth Road about 2:15 p.m. A routine computer check found that DeClemente's driving privileges were suspended in New York state. He was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, police said. A tow truck was called to impound the …
Hundreds Mourn Loss, Celebrate Life Of Armonk's Miles Applebaum, 21 Hundreds Mourn Loss, Celebrate Life Of Armonk's Miles Applebaum, 21 Hundreds Mourn Loss, Celebrate Life Of Armonk's Miles Applebaum, 21
Hundreds Mourn Loss, Celebrate Life Of Armonk's Miles Applebaum, 21 ARMONK, N.Y. -- Hundreds of friends and relatives of Miles Applebaum celebrated his brief but wondrous life Sunday during funeral services at Congregation B'Nai Yisrael. The 21-year-old Byram Hills High School graduate, state track star and Temple University junior was a deeply poetic person who loved jazz but who suffered bouts of severe depression. His body was found Thursday, Oct. 2, by a park ranger at Glazier Preserve in New Castle after he went missing on Monday.  "Miles' love has united us in life,'' said Rabbi Douglas Krantz. "The song that was Miles is playing now quietly in…
Harrison Tries To Set HUD Straight On 'Exclusionary' Zoning Harrison Tries To Set HUD Straight On 'Exclusionary' Zoning Harrison Tries To Set HUD Straight On 'Exclusionary' Zoning
Harrison Tries To Set HUD Straight On 'Exclusionary' Zoning HARRISON, N.Y. -- In a letter to a federal housing monitor, Mayor/Supervisor Ron Belmont says the village and town of Harrison are anything but exclusionary to anyone wanting to reside there. Belmont notes his town has a reputation for being affluent, but is near the middle of Westchester's 43 municipalities -- 19th -- with a median household income of $105,111, according to the 2010 census. "The town is more ethnically diverse than is generally perceived,'' Belmont wrote, citing statistics to prove it in a Sept. 26 letter to James E. Johnson, who is monitoring a 2009 fair housing settl…
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