Angel Cruz's criminal history: Once a heroin dealer, ex-convict is in running for judge position
THE BRONX, NEW YORK: An ex-convict has managed to flip his life one-eighty and is now running to be a Civil Court judge in The Bronx. The man who peddled heroin and spent more than ten years in prison for attempted murder and armed robbery is now an example of how one can succeed despite immense odds.
“Only in America is this possible. I’ve gone from public enemy to public champion,” said the hopeful candidate, who not only acknowledges his sordid past but is in fact using it as part of his campaign for judgeship.
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Who is Angel Cruz?
The 56-year-old lawyer is a long-time functionary in the Bronx County Democratic organization and is one of five judicial candidates in the borough. The other candidates up for the Civil Court Judge position in the Bronx’s 2nd Municipal District include lawyers Jessica Flores, John Rodriguez, Veronica Powell, and Yadhira Gonzalez-Taylor.
He is also the husband of Lumarie Maldonado Cruz, who defeated the Democratic Party’s pick Wyatt Gibbons for the Queens civil court judgeship in 2019. As per reports, in 2020, he ran in the 2020 Democratic primary for a Jackson Heights assembly seat then held by Michael DenDekker. Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas went on to win the primary and the general election in November 2020. Cruz finished last.
Cruz has been endorsed by Assemblyman Jose Rivera, the former Bronx Democratic Party chairman, and Councilman Fernando Cabrera, a candidate for Bronx borough president.
Angel Cruz’s criminal history
As per Cruz, he was a juvenile delinquent as a young teen, getting arrested for burglary as a 13-year-old, and again in 1981, for chain snatching. He was also busted and convicted for attempted murder during a robbery in 1982, at the age of 17. “I had a gun. Shots were fired,” he said. However, he insisted that it was an accomplice who fired shots and no one was hurt.
Cruz was released from prison in 1988. But at the time, he had still not left his life of crime behind. He was caught again at the age of 22 and convicted for armed robbery in a dispute over a heroin sale in Brooklyn. Cruz was again sentenced to eight to 16 years after a jury trial.
It was when he was incarcerated that Cruz took an interest in the law. As per a report, he began visiting the prison library, believing that the prosecution had wronged him -- he attempted to become his own legal advocate.
“The prison library became my church,” he said. But his road to a life of law did not come easy. As per a report, with the assistance of a public defender, he represented himself when he appealed his conviction. The Appellate Division tossed out the case and sent it back to the trial judge for resentencing. Then-Brooklyn Judge Cesar Quinones cut his sentence to five years or time served at his hearing.
“I asked Judge Quinones if he had enough courage to give me an opportunity. You’re talking about a twice-convicted felon who’s been in the criminal justice system since the age of 12,” Cruz said. “In the end, Judge Quinones exercised grace. The judge paid my debt to the devil. After that, I belonged to God. From that moment, I changed my life.”
Cruz, after getting out of prison again, studied law at John Jay College and CUNY Law School. After graduating, he clerked for judges, did legal work for the Bronx borough president’s office, and ultimately started his own practice. But his criminal past always followed him like a shadow.
After passing the bar exam, Cruz applied for his law license with the Appellate Division, which rules on whether a citizen has the “character” to practice law. The court rejected Cruz's first bid but gave him the green light when he reapplied.
“Angel has done his time. He has redeemed himself. He has nothing to be ashamed of and a lot to be proud of. I’m proud of his candidacy,” said Jose Rivera. “Angel will be a fair judge. He won’t be controlled by anyone,” Rivera said.
Cruz said that if he was given criminal cases if elected, he would be a fair-minded judge. “I suspect I will hear criminal cases. The first obligation is to public safety. Punishment is necessary. But we must measure that with grace,” he said.