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20 years later, three brothers found guilty in slaying outside Park Hill Apartments

Brothers Brian (Brawl) Gill, left, David (Plot) Gill, center, and Samuel (Waco) McIntosh, right, were convicted by a federal jury Thursday in the drug-related murder of Michael Dawson, 23, on June 22, 1994. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney's office)

By John M. Annese | annese@siadvance.com 
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on November 13, 2014 at 7:10 PM, updated November 13, 2014 at 7:18 PM

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Michael Dawson, 23, was shot to death on June 22, 1994, outside of 160 Park Hill Ave. in Clifton.Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney's office 

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It took 20 years, but the three brothers prosecutors say killed 23-year-old Michael Dawson in a drug-related shooting outside the Park Hill Apartments in 1994 have been brought to justice.

After a three-week trial and four days of deliberations, a jury in Brooklyn federal court found brothers Brian (Brawl) Gill, 46, David (Plot) Gill, 43, and Samuel (Waco) McIntosh, 40, guilty of Dawson's drug-related slaying on June 22, 1994.

Brian and David Gill were also found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base from 2011 to 2013, while McIntosh was acquitted of that charge.

For Teisha Felder-Diallo, Dawson's girlfriend at the time, the verdict came as a massive relief.

Ms. Felder-Diallo recounted at trial how she accompanied Dawson in the ambulance: "I was holding his hand and I watched the air come up out of him and the air release from his mouth, and then we got to the hospital, he let go of my hand."

After Thursday's verdict, she said, "I can breathe. That last breath that I watched Michael take, I can breathe now that justice is served. ... It's restored my faith in the system."

Dawson had been dealing crack at 141 Park Hill Ave., but moved on to 160 Park Hill Ave. and pooled his resources with one of Brian Gill's friends, Donald (Don Don) Lewis, prosecutors said. Brian Gill didn't like the arrangement, telling Lewis that he didn't think Dawson could be counted on to protect their territory with violence.

On the day of the murder, "Brawl picked a fight with someone close to Dawson and Don Don, punching that person in the face. They fought and Brawl lost. He was embarrassed, disrespected on his own turf. And so he called his brothers, the two people he could count on most, and got his gun," argued Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata.

At 4 p.m. that day, Dawson and McIntosh approached a drug customer's car, both angling for the sale. McIntosh pulled out his gun and shot Dawson, and Brian and David Gill joined in and opened fire, prosecutors said.

"For years, these defendants made drug dealing and violence a daily reality for the law-abiding residents of Park Hill," said United States Attorney Loretta Lynch in a written statement. "Today, these three men have been held accountable for the lives they have destroyed and the harm they have done to one of our communities. As a result of the extraordinary efforts of law enforcement, Park Hill is a safer place."

All three face a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life behind bars when they're sentenced.

Corey Gill, the defendants' brother, railed against the verdict, and the fact that the jury believed the government's cooperating witnesses, whom he called "admitted psychopaths."

He was referring to Paul (Uncles) Ford, who got his drug supply through his ties to a Guyanese death squad, and Norbert Grigger. Both men are admitted murderers, and both testified for the prosecution. Ford testified he watched the murder take place from a nearby taxi.

"I feel that what went on in that courtroom was obscene," Corey Gill said, contending that the witnesses got to keep the proceeds of their drug-dealing activity. "I submit that they're not cooperating with the government, but the government is cooperating with them, and this is what America has come to."

Herman Dawson, Michael's brother -- a former deputy commissioner for the city's department of juvenile justice who has also served as a state administrative law judge -- said the Park Hill community had always known who killed his brother.

"The sad part is, the whole community knew who did it. Everybody knew who did it," he said. "But the community was terrorized, and no one would come forward. It took 20 years for people to feel comfortable enough or feel compelled enough to actually tell what happened."

As for the testimony of Ford and Grigger, Herman Dawson said, "They did the right thing, but that doesn't make them good people. Don't get me wrong. I don't praise them for being good people, but I do appreciate they did come forward. Because if they didn't come forward, these guys would never have been held accountable for it." 

He called the verdict "a long time coming." He said he regretted their mother, who died six years ago, wasn't still alive to see justice served.

Ms. Felder-Diallo said she was most disturbed by how Dawson was killed by men he thought were his friends.

"I still miss Michael. Michael was a wonderful person, although he sold drugs. He wanted to be with the in crowd. He didn't have to. He wanted to be with a part of society that he was not fit for and it cost him his life, for being involved with people that have no value for life," she said.

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