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

Dead Bear Disrupts Commute On Taconic Parkway Dead Bear Disrupts Commute On Taconic Parkway Dead Bear Disrupts Commute On Taconic Parkway
Dead Bear Disrupts Commute On Taconic Parkway HOPEWELL JUNCTION, N.Y. -- State police and road crews were responding to the Taconic Parkway near Interstate 84 on Monday morning after a dead bear was reported on the center median. The incident occurred on the southbound side just before 8 a.m. Return to Daily Voice for details.
Ex-Police Officer From Westchester Convicted Of Dealing 'Date Rape' Drug Ex-Police Officer From Westchester Convicted Of Dealing 'Date Rape' Drug Ex-Police Officer From Westchester Convicted Of Dealing 'Date Rape' Drug
Ex-Police Officer From Westchester Convicted Of Dealing 'Date Rape' Drug SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. -- A former police officer from Sleepy Hollow was convicted on Thursday of illegally selling a '"date rape" drug via the Internet, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Robert Smutek, 52, was convicted of four counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Smutek's maximum sentence will be determined by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas. During his five-day federal trial, Smutek testified that he sold more than 200,000 one-ounce bottles of Potion 9 in a five-year period, re…
Judge Backs French American School, Blasts White Plains 'War Of Attrition' Judge Backs French American School, Blasts White Plains 'War Of Attrition' Judge Backs French American School, Blasts White Plains 'War Of Attrition'
Judge Backs French American School, Blasts White Plains 'War Of Attrition' WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A state Supreme Court judge has rejected a motion to White Plains Common Council to a dismiss a lawsuit by a private school over its development proposal. State Supreme Court Judge Joan Lefkowitz wrote in a decision (attached below): "Having repeatedly wrung from FASNY concessions and accommodations on FASNY’s original proposal, then extending the SEQRA process further by compelling FASNY to explore the North Street option and essentially enticing FASNY to submit a new application incorporating that very option, the Common Council illegally placed the 2014 Applicat…
Local High School Temporarily Evacuated Local High School Temporarily Evacuated Local High School Temporarily Evacuated
Local High School Temporarily Evacuated PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- The annual senior "skip day" turned into the real thing on Friday at Port Chester High School.  Firefighters were called to the high school shortly before 8 a.m. after a report of a suspected carbon monoxide gas leak.  Classes resumed by 8:40 a.m. after officials determined the building was safe. Caryn Furst, a spokeswoman for the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District said a CO detector apparently went off in the kitchen and as a result Con Edison was called to check everything out. "Meanwhile, following protocol (same one we would use if this ha…
Suspicious Package Shuts Down Thornwood Shopping Center Suspicious Package Shuts Down Thornwood Shopping Center Suspicious Package Shuts Down Thornwood Shopping Center
Suspicious Package Shuts Down Thornwood Shopping Center THORNWOOD, N.Y. -- Columbus Avenue was closed to motorists on Thursday morning after a report of a suspicious package at Rose Hill Shopping Center. Thornwood Volunteer firefighters detoured traffic as the Westchester County Bomb Squad and Mount Pleasant police repsonded shortly before 11 a.m.  Even pedestrians on foot were being turned away a half-mile form the shopping center's Columbus Avenue entrance.
White Plains Man Charged In Fatal Hit-Run Accident White Plains Man Charged In Fatal Hit-Run Accident White Plains Man Charged In Fatal Hit-Run Accident
White Plains Man Charged In Fatal Hit-Run Accident GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Greenburgh police have made an arrest in a nearly year-old hit-and-run accident that killed a pedestrian. On Wednesday, Greenburgh detectives interviewed and subsequently charged Theodore Aubrey Gumbs, 51, of 1 Wyndover Woods Lane in White Plains with leaving the scene of an accident, resulting in a death, a class D felony, according to Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner. The arrest stems from investigative leads developed by town detectives in locating the 2015 Honda Pilot that Gumbs is accused of driving the night he struck 23-year-old Darryl Chung.  "Credit to ou…
Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl
Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- A 29-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting a child, Dutchess County Sheriff’s said on Thursday. The county Sheriff's Office arrested Jose Diaz of Poughkeepsie for the sexual assault of a child in connection with a string of incidents that occurred in 2014. Diaz was arrested on Tuesday as the result of an investigation by the Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Dutchess County Child Advocacy Center. Diaz is accused of sexually assaulting a female victim under the age of 13 over the course of several months in 2014.  No further details about the c…
Police Arrest Teenage Girl After Threat At John Jay High School Police Arrest Teenage Girl After Threat At John Jay High School Police Arrest Teenage Girl After Threat At John Jay High School
Police Arrest Teenage Girl After Threat At John Jay High School EAST FISHKILL, N.Y. -- A 17-year-old girl has been arrested in connection to a threatening note found by another student on Monday at John Jay High School. On Wednesday, East Fishkill police said the teenage student from John Jay High, whose name has not been released, was arrsted about midnight on Monday after an investigation by detectives. She was charged with making a terroristic threat -- a class D felony. She was arraigned in Town of Fishkill Justice Court and sent to the Dutchess County Jail on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond pending her return to court. The charge stems from a n…
'Purple Rain' Airs At City Center Cinema In Tribute To Prince 'Purple Rain' Airs At City Center Cinema In Tribute To Prince 'Purple Rain' Airs At City Center Cinema In Tribute To Prince
'Purple Rain' Airs At City Center Cinema In Tribute To Prince WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- City Center 15: Cinema de Lux in White Plains, will be screening the 1984 movie classic "Purple Rain" in memory of Prince on Thursday night. The music legend was found unconscious on Friday in an elevator at his Minnesota residence as reported here. The film is a semi-autobiographical tale of The Kid, a Minneapolis musician navigating the club scene while dealing with a romantic rival and a difficult family life. A massive hit upon release, it’s a showcase for Prince’s otherworldly musical, visual and sartorial stylings, and introduced the world to the glory …
'Purple Rain' Airs At AMC Palisades 21 In Tribute To Prince 'Purple Rain' Airs At AMC Palisades 21 In Tribute To Prince 'Purple Rain' Airs At AMC Palisades 21 In Tribute To Prince
'Purple Rain' Airs At AMC Palisades 21 In Tribute To Prince WEST NYACK, N.Y. -- AMC Palisades 21 will be screening the 1984 movie classic "Purple Rain" in memory of Prince several times daily through Thursday night. Additional showings have been added, according to the latest online listings. The music legend was found unconscious on Friday in an elevator at his Minnesota residence as reported here. The film is a semi-autobiographical tale of The Kid, a Minneapolis musician navigating the club scene while dealing with a romantic rival and a difficult family life. A massive hit upon release, it’s a showcase for Prince’s otherworldly musica…
10,141 - 10,150 of 11,056 articles