| About Paddy Duke | |
|---|---|
| Known As | Pasquale Raucci |
| Age | 54 Years |
| Birth | January 28, 1970 |
| Gender | Male |
| Spouse | Stacy Gulya Raucci August 2008 - Present |
| Children | Antonio Raucci, Alissa Raucci |
| Alumni | New Utrecht High School |
Paddy Duke, a radio executive, was fired by Hot 97 because of his involvement in the 1989 death of Yusuf Hawkins. The HBO documentary Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn revealed details about the black teen’s death by a white mob. While the gunman was convicted and sentenced, several others were cleared of his murder. One of them was Pasquale Raucci, now known as Paddy Duke. He has been working at Hot 97 for decades without consequences for his involvement in Hawkins’ death, much to the outrage of advocates for racial justice. This Paddy Duke wiki elaborates more on where he is now.
Paddy Duke’s Family
Born Pasquale Raucci on January 28, 1970, the New York native goes by Paddy Duke. He has deleted his social media profiles since his firing. His last known whereabouts are in Staten Island.
Duke married Stacy Gulya on August 28, 2008 in New Jersey. They are parents to a son, Antonio, and a daughter, Alissa.
Posted by Stacy Gulya Raucci on Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The couple with their children and extended family reside in Staten Island. While Duke’s erstwhile job at Hot 97 meant commuting to the station, Stacy works for a company in Staten Island.
Also Read: FACT CHECK – Sex Traffickers Tag Potential Targets with “1f1b” on Vehicles
Paddy Duke’s Criminal Record
The HBO documentary, Storm Over Brooklyn, retold the 1989 murder of Yusuf Hawkins, a 16-year-old black youth. His death was the third killing of a black person by a white mob in New York City in the ‘80s.
Joseph Fama, Keith Mondello, John Vento, Joseph Serrano, and Pasquale Raucci were the suspects named in Hawkins’ killing. Witnesses identified Fama as the one who pulled the trigger that killed Hawkins.
Raucci was 19 when he was indicted. He had graduated from New Utrecht High School and was working at a business named Video Reflections.
He was indicted and reportedly served as a witness identifying the other assailants. During the trial, Raucci’s mother expressed her condolences to Hawkins’ parents but couldn’t comment to the media on advice of their lawyer.
Fama and Mondello were convicted and sentenced in 1990. Raucci was acquitted of the murder charges.
A New York Times report said Raucci “was convicted of three counts of unlawful imprisonment, but these felony convictions were dropped by the judge, who sentenced him to probation and community service for possession of a bat as a weapon.”
The judgement and sentence was met with outrage by New Yorkers. Most believed that justice was not served in Hawkins’ disproportionate death.
Don’t Miss: FACT CHECK – Was George Floyd Ever on “Judge Judy”?
Paddy Duke’s Firing from Hot 97
Four years after he was acquitted of murder charges, Pasquale Raucci as Paddy Duke began working at Hot 97, the popular New York radio station. He reportedly had been working in production since 1994 and moved up to the executive ranks in the last decade.
Since the documentary revealed his connection to Hawkins’ mob murder, Hot 97 immediately severed its ties with Duke. The radio exec was fired, according to a statement by Hot 97 on Sunday.
After watching HBO's Storm over Brooklyn, HOT97 was shocked and took swift action. Paddy Duke is no longer employed by HOT97. The march for social justice continues. (Getty Images: Spencer Platt / Staff) pic.twitter.com/pDyyebjalJ
— HOT 97 (@HOT97) August 23, 2020
Ebro Darden, one of Hot 97’s well-known hosts, addressed Duke’s firing, saying, “The realization is that this couldn’t be swept under the rug, obviously, and so he’s been fired.”
“We, as a station, had to confront this head-on,” Darden said. “Look, I’ve had conversations with Paddy Duke. And he told me he got swept up in the Yusuf Hawkins situation. He also told me he didn’t have nothing to do with it. This was, man it had to be more than like eight, 10 years ago. I didn’t know he had a misdemeanor, though, cause he did get charged with a misdemeanor. And I didn’t know that his record had been expunged.”
Despite Hot 97’s response, social media users don’t believe that the station was in the dark about Duke’s criminal history. Several people have accused Hot 97 of ignoring Duke’s involvement in Hawkins’ death and letting him profit from hip-hop culture.
Also Read: FACT CHECK – Was BLM Leader, Charles Wade, Arrested?
